Moms and dads, grandmoms and granddads: Praise your children with a period and not a comma. Here’s what I mean: your affirmation and encouragement needs to be without qualification, free of compromise, and, most importantly, not serve as a prelude to criticism. Whenever you follow a bit of encouragement/affirmation/praise with a COMMA and then a Read the full article…
One night not too long ago, I was at the local YMCA. There were also three young men working out near me who looked to be about 19, 16, and 12. This kind of thing happens all the time, and in that particular setting I don’t usually initiate conversation with people I don’t know. I Read the full article…
There is one kind of news story that I don’t ever want to be in as a pastor. You’ve seen the headlines, you’ve seen the falls, you know the stories. So to prevent sexual or relational immorality in the pastorate, I’ve found it helpful to live by certain boundaries. I don’t think the boundaries are Read the full article…
I’m going to miss Lost And Found. I think it’s been one of our strongest series ever, combining extraordinarily good music with the kind of bible-study-snuck-into-a-sermon with which people resonate. In the way Lost And Found told Elijah’s story, it was really a drama with four acts. The final act centers on what happens when Read the full article…
Ah, the dreaded Trust Fall. If you’ve ever been on any kind of youth retreat — especially during the 80s and 90s — you’ve probably taken part in one. Trust is difficult to earn yet easy to lose. Hard to give and simple to take back. Yet when our lives are characterized by mis-trust, we Read the full article…
