Church

Last week, while browsing the religion section at our local library, I came across Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense by N.T. Wright.  Though I'm generally skeptical of people who use initials instead of names, I put that bias aside and started thumbing through the book.  I've heard other people reference N.T. Wright's writings and the title intrigued me. I'm glad I did.  I ended up checking out the book and have loved it.  Here are a few of the take-aways at the two-thirds point: "Laughter and tears are a good index of being human." "The skepticism that we've been taught for the last two hundred years has paved our world with concrete, making people ashamed to admit that they have had profound and powerful 'religious' experiences." "We must begin to talk about God.  Which is like saying that we must learn to stare at the sun." "Watching Richter play…

Here's a good blog post on the power of generosity, written from a business perspective.  Generosity is a Wonder Drug.

This weekend at Mountainview we wrapped up our Hope Lives series.  During the month of August we explored God's heart for the poor and disadvantaged and what our role in the solution might be.  In addition to our weekend teaching, we encouraged people to read the Hope Lives book and to join a Hope Lives discussion group.  It has been a challenging -- but encouraging -- experience. For the final teaching time, I spoke about the need for hope to have hands and feet if hope is to truly come alive.  Without hands and feet, hope is just a feeling, a sentimentality.  It's one thing to say, "I hope you get what you need."  It's another to walk alongside a person in need, to put a shoulder to the shovel. It's not enough to ask, "How does that make you feel?"  When a normal, decent human being is confronted with…

Found this article on how to poach chicken in a coffee maker.

One small benefit of the settling back into a ministry groove has been the opportunity to read more stuff ... books, blogs, even tweets.  One of the blogs I've been tracking is Leading Smart by Tim Stevens.  Tim is the executive pastor at Granger Community Church and blogs about church leadership.  Here is a post I read this morning -- hope you enjoy it! ********** Yesterday I wrote a post with warning signs for organizations which are in a season of fast growth. When the pace is quick, we sometimes are blind to things that could trip us up. On the other hand, when your organization has stopped growing or is in decline, there are also some traps that are easy to fall into... We forget the mission. We are frustrated by the lack of growth and so we allow the mission to be lost in charts, budgets and forecasts.…