'Musings' Tagged Posts
The defect free church
I heart Valentine’s day (and I’m not scared to say so)
an example of love for all of us
Christian, how are we to engage the world today?
Kindles and Bibles
Office Coffee VS. The Coffee Shop
A short word on age and finishing strong
5 Reasons Not to Copy the Successful Church down the Street
I have four boys living in my house and nothing is more tedious and annoying to listen to than when they start to copy each other. I know it’s part of regular development and that younger ones learn from older ones, but man can it grate the nerves to listen to and witness. I so desperately want…
Video Games, Violence Against Women and Christianity – Here Comes Thanksgiving
Talking with younger folks, and some not so younger folks I notice a growing issue in my life as a Christian leader. I am encountering more and more violence against women, as well as a general increase in violence and degrading hate speech. Something caught my attention during a recent television…
10 Things I’ve Learned in Two Years of Ministry
Things I have learned after two years in full-time ministry, in no particular order: It is such common knowledge it is almost nonsense to write about it: millennial leaders are more co-operative than their predecessors. I have noticed that this isn’t really about age of body but rather of mind.…
Applesauce and the #s of Ministry
Yesterday I was making some apple sauce. I mean I was making it good and plenty. I was peeling and coring and boiling and trying not to spill as I poured it into jars. I was so engaged in it. A kid was there helping me, counting apples, moving apples around. I was excited. There might as well have been two kids making apple sauce (except, of course, we actually succeeded…
Mass Shootings and an Old Promise
You may or may not know that I have two boys 6 and 3 and another due in a month, and a foster child (age 6) in my house. What sort of world are we making for the children, we being us, the adults? I am as biased and confused and frustrated as anyone about the goings on in the world today, the number of news stories I struggle to explain to the boys makes me feel small,…
4 Keys to a Vital Congregation
People seem to dig the list when it comes to blogs and ministers and lay folks alike seem concerned about the decline of the church and wary of the future. More important all of us are trying to figure out how not only to lead the church but also how to be the church. Many people have pointed out that these days feel a lot more like the church of the Book of Acts than…
3 Reasons Pastors Struggle With Comments
No one really likes criticism, especially if it’s not constructive, not given in a manner meant to help. We have all received feedback that was meant to demonstrate the intelligence of the one offering the criticism, or meant to tell us about what they value, that contains nothing on which we can build. I want to do my job well, and so do you, whatever you do. I…
We Labor Not in Vain
In my currently preferred sport, running, one of the really nice things is the culture of acceptance. If you go to a running event the absolute elites can be there, and you and I can be there too. A recent running magazine issue was dedicated entirely to what it takes to finish last…but to finish. To be in the running community is to receive grace and acceptance,…
Too Many Christian Books
This morning I attended what I imagine is only the first of many school concerts I will attend as my boys grow up and work their way through the schooling system. I was as proud as any parent in the room (every seat was taken) as I sat beside my wife and younger boy Thomas and watched Oliver sing and try to do the actions on time (especially proud that he wasn’t the kid…
A Word of Encouragement (Or the Church as a Trapeze)
I used to teach snowboarding at a high level. I would take snowboard instructors to the biggest steepest run at our resort and ask them to ride it fakie (with the wrong foot in front). I enjoyed hundreds, if not thousands, of hours snowboarding. In order to improve and in order to help others…
God Fulfills His Promises
This past weekend I was reminded of how frustrated many of our churches are these days. I sometimes think I create bogeyman in my head when it comes to the troubles we are facing as a denomination; I pay too close attention to the numbers and the seeming struggles of my brothers and sisters in ministry. I want so badly to help them. Despite what one woman said to a member…
Walking a Dog…What’s That Smell???
What’s that smell? It’s spring here on Vancouver Island and the flowers are budding and many tulips have already blossomed and many others stand sentinel straight waiting for just the right moment to grace the earth with their blooms. I was walking my dog this morning amidst the splendor and…
Some People Will Wash Each Other’s Feet and Others Will Go Skiing
As a parent of young children I have known quite a few people, church-goers and non-church-goers, who have had questions about how to handle the big holidays on our calendars. Thanksgiving is relatively easy, as is Valentine’s day; but for Christians and non-Christians what to make of Christmas and…
I Worry Too Much, How about You?
Sometimes I feel like I am a real sentimental guy. There are days when I look at my boys (aged 5 and 3) while they are climbing on me, asking for hugs and running around, yelling in high pitched joy-filled voices that hurt my ears. At these times, I feel compelled to think about the future; the times when they are going to be quiet, the times I will have more time on my…