I am not a salesman

When I was little it seemed like I was always raising money for something. (I guess some things don't change - see storychurch.org to give now!) I remember one time standing out front of the grocery store selling candy for yet another church trip. I think this time it was chocolate eggs, large tasty eggs, for $6 a piece. I remember the man who felt bad for me and bought my last 5 eggs which meant I got to go to Disneyland for free. But it wasn't because I was a great salesman. It was pity. I didn't have a smooth sales pitch, an engaging question, or even a sweet catch phrase like "BINGO!" (see yesterday's post if you don't understand)I still...

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BINGO!

I was sitting in Starbucks the other day working on my laptop when it happened. I've seen it unfold probably a dozen times in coffee shops over the years. Some young couple is meeting with some slick salesman who wants them to join his pyramid scheme (close enough anyway) with the promise that what they are about to do is easy and will make them tons of money in almost no time at all. This time, the salesman was selling Identity Theft Protection. He was good I must admit. He knew how to make a sale. He had this young couple saying "yes" a lot. They were excited. It seemed so easy. And to back it all up - he had a catch phrase. "BINGO!" Just about...

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Drops Like Stars

It arrived by UPS yesterday. I wasn't really prepared for what I was about to experience. Rob Bell's latest book Drops Like Stars is a work of art. From the second I opened the box I knew that this would be quite an experience. The book is large. Not in terms of page numbers or content - but in actual size. It's huge. Think yearbook, or coffee table book. It's pages are bright red. Throughout the book you will find stories, incredible photos, and great insight from Bell. In its pages, Bell addresses the issue of suffering. But rather than addressing it in terms of "why?" he instead focuses on the "what now?" that comes from suffering. When the...

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Plans vs. Vision

"Plans change, vision stays the same." I listened recently to another Andy Stanley leadership podcast that hit me at just the right time. I asked on twitter last week for people to be praying for me as I had some pretty big decisions to make. I feel like God really answered many of those prayers by allowing me to hear this particular podcast. In it, Andy talks about how many of us fail to realize that our particular vision is not the same as our particular plan. I know for me this church planting adventure that I am on is one where my plans and the vision God has given me sometimes get confused. I think this is common for many of us. Maybe your vision is about a particular ministry, or about your business, or even a particular vision for your family. Our plans become so important to us. After...

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Date Night

To all my married friends out there, what's the rhythm of your marriage? How often do you go on a date with your wife? How much do you spend? What are some of the creative things you've done for cheap? My wife and I would like to go out every week, but we have basically no money - so we need some creative ideas. Help a brother o...

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Trust me

I was reading a very familiar proverb today when something occurred to me that I never noticed before. It comes from Proverbs 3:5-6 in the Old Testament of the Bible. It says this:"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight."You see, I've always pictured trust as being one of things we do when, based upon the facts at hand, we make an intellectual decision to go along with the situation at hand. We decide to trust, and in doing so, we trust with our heads. But today I noticed something different. This particular verse says to trust "with all [our] heart." Our hearts are the center of our will. It's the place where we sit on the throne. It's definitely an area of decision making, but it's...

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Declaration of Dependence

Independence is overrated. Don't get me wrong, I love living in a free country, but I'm a bit over the individualized existence so many of us live. Somewhere along the line we as Americans, maybe even as Christians, have come to the conclusion that we are the center of our world, and that we don't need anyone else. We have become our own masters, and even those of us who call ourselves Christians have become very independent of each other - after all, all I need is Jesus, right? In what has been a very difficult, trying, and stressful time - I'm declaring today my complete and utter dependence. I am learning just how dependent I am on others. Kimi and I live and pay our bills because of the generosity of others. We live on their monthly support which allows us to focus on ministry here in...

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Veggie Tales

Sometimes God uses the strangest things to speak to me - like a Pirate who doesn't do anything. There's a movie theater near our house that shows free movies for kids all throughout the summer. Today's movie was the Veggie Tales "The Pirates who don't do anything." I thought I'd spend some time with my daughter today so I took her on a date to see the movie. The place was packed with mom's, snacks, and hobbit-like children. Hannah and I sat down in the middle of the theater and settled in for the movie. To be honest, I was fading in and out throughout the movie - dozing off a couple of times.Anyway, the story was about three "pirates" who really aren't pirates at all. They get magically whisked away to a time and place where real pirates are threatening a kingdom. There is a call that goes...

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