Henry David ThoreauHenry David Thoreau once penned:"The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation"This was written as Thoreau spent two years and two months on Walden Pond, in Concord, Massachusetts, pondering the life of being removed from civilization. There is wisdom in taking this time of separation to consider one' place in life, and … Continue reading Our Lives of Quiet Desperation

Go Rachel, Go!Feel like your life has too many challenges? Too many bills to pay, kids too noisy, feeling lonely, like your job stinks. Feel overwhelmed? Wonder if life has no meaning?Try this. Try being born with a severe visual birth defect. Try coping with life that way.Then try taking on a 1,131 mile dog … Continue reading Overcoming Obstacles

I had another conversation today with a (different than the other day) pastor friend. He was telling me about his new members class at his church, and how they work to "set the bar rather low" to allow people the room to find their place in the church. He has been teaching this class for … Continue reading Is It Just About Showing Up?

Are The Cleavers "Seekers" or Just "Emergent"?Gosh, come on and smile you people, or is church THAT bad?Ok, so Tod Bolsinger has summarized for us what people want from the perfect church. I love the ideas people mentioned and those things not mentioned. What a nice gaggle of Christian folk. However, this whole topic has … Continue reading But What do the THE REST of The People Want?

Daniel SchorrSo I am driving home today from work, listening to NPR. There is lengthy coverage of the news that freedom seems to be breaking out in several places in the Middle East. Amazing. Its beginning to feel like 1989 in Eastern Europe. I am smiling, thinking, maybe God is at work in all this. … Continue reading White Guy Nearly Crashes Volvo Listening to NPR

As noted here my way cool wife just returned from a weekend of home building in Tijuana. Upon return, the team of those who went were trading emails about their experience. This email, from Jason Blandford, a Fuller Seminary student, has something very good to say:"You know, our church has four different "styles" of worship, … Continue reading A Different Kind of Worship

I need to get a pipe!Alright, I take off a day or so from blogging, and cyber-space zaps past me. My friend Tod Bolsinger has a wonderful series of posts on Perfect Church here and here. In particular, take a few moments and read the comments. Wonderful stuff. Really great - a collection of people … Continue reading Look Dad, The Perfect Church. Pull the car over!!

Terry SchiavoThis is simply not right. I know. Our dearest friends have a family member who is living in sub-acute care, and slowly declining from Huntingtons Disease. His name is Bee, (known affectionately as Mr. Bee, to those who love him). He is about my age. He is my friend, and each time we visit … Continue reading Our Friend Mr. Bee

Building a bit of the Kingdom For the past 10 years or so, my wife has always wanted to celebrate her 40th birthday by building a home for someone less fortunate. Well, 40 came and went, and what with the busy-ness of two daughters in school, multiple sports, church, music lessons, etc, that trip to … Continue reading My Wife – Gotta Love Her

I was in a pastor friend's office today, and spotted this quote, framed on the wall:"Lord its your Church.I am going to bed."Prayer attributed to Pope John XXIII