The Spiritual Discipline of Chaos pt. 1
I sometimes wonder why solitude and quiet are so highly revered in the Christian walk. I completely understand how a quiet place is a great way to hear the still small voice of God (1 Kings 19:12). Joshua Choomin Kang wrote, “ One of the obstacles to our spiritual growth is noise….How do our souls grow? Our souls thrive on silence”(2006, p. 106). I get this. I know the priority of solitude was modeled in Jesus. Before calling his disciples, Jesus spent the night alone praying on a mountain (Luke 6:12-13). Jesus called his disciples to a quiet place to rest ...
Jesus is Not Your Boyfriend
Jesus is known to be many things to people including Lord, Savior and friend to sinners. But, there is one thing Jesus is definitely not. Jesus is not your boyfriend. But, if you spend too much time around many churches today, you might think differently. In fact, I think this idea has become so ingrained in our churches, most of us don’t even recognize it’s there (or a problem). But, it’s a huge problem, and can be especially confusing to a man attending church for the first time. So, I’d like to share 3 ways the church unintentionally encourages this ...
Why We Go to Church
Why We Go to Church My three year old son is in the asking why phase of childhood. Whether it's asking him to eat lunch, turn off the t.v., or go potty his response to every given order is, "But, why?". This past Sunday morning, after explaining to him why he needed to get dressed and why he needed to eat breakfast, I informed him we were going to church. His immediate response was to ask why. I paused and pondered how I would respond to my inquisitive three year old. In that moment it was like my whole spiritual life flashed before my eyes. ...
Top 5 Posts of 2015
I had a blast blogging this past year and hope to blog even more in the coming year. I thought I'd share the top 5 most viewed posts from this previous year. 5. The Prayer that Changed My Life Forever I decided to share what I remember about saying goodbye to my dad in third grade. This was definitely an emotional post for me to write. I had a counseling appointment in grad school that changed how I viewed my dad's death forever and shared about it in this post. 4. Stuff My Kids Say #3 I began writing down ...
When Faith Feels Like the Hamster Wheel to Nowhere
Rainbows and Leprechauns Growing up, I used to love hearing stories about leprechauns and their hidden gold held at the end of a rainbow. I admit, there are times today when I’ll see a well-formed rainbow and only the adult pressure of responsibility keeps me from throwing caution to the wind and trying to find the end of the rainbow. It’s not that I actually expect to find the end or gold, but there’s still that little boy inside wanting to try. Now, I know that finding the end of a rainbow is impossible. No matter how fast or far ...
When Your Counselor Calls You Intense
The Session I've seen a counselor on and off for years and every once in a while something really hits home. My last session was one of those times. My counselor asked, “Have you ever thought about how you come across as intense?” I nervously laughed for a minute, but inside my head it was like the world stopped and my life flashed before my eyes. I was thinking, “OH NO! My counselor thinks I’m intense!” What does it mean when the dude people pay to listen to their intense thoughts for a living, thinks you're intense?! And what does it ...
How Leading a Team is a Lot Like Cross-Country
I was never very good at cross-country in high school. Any time my picture was taken during a race, I looked like I was passing a kidney stone or had been kicked in the face repeatedly. I may never have won a race, but did learn a thing or two about running one. In any race, you have to pace yourself. You can’t sprint the entire time and must know when to push a little harder and when to rest. It’s the same with leading a great group or team. There’s a time to plant and push and a time to ...
5 Music Videos Every Christian Needs to See
Remember what it was like to feel far from God? I was talking with a friend recently who described feeling like "something" was missing from his life. For some people it's a distant memory while for others it's a daily reality. The truth is, the further we get from the time we felt far from God, the easier it is to forget what it was like. Every once in a while a song comes out that immediately makes me remember. If you're a Christian, I hope the messages in these 5 songs will help you remember that everyday people are searching for.....something. ...
Friedrich Nietzsche Helped Me Believe in Jesus
I remember walking out of a Philosophy class one day during college and feeling like my head was going to explode. Our class had spent the previous hour arguing against the existence of God and the ability to truly know anything at all. It's always an interesting adventure for a Christian to have to argue against the existence of God which I had to do that day and gave the exercise everything I had. After class I walked into the school cafeteria, sat down with some friends and said, "Please tell me that God exists." That happened numerous times that semester ...
The Best Part of Leading a Group
I remember this past fall, peering around the room at my new small group. I wondered how well this group was going to go. Yes, I’d been through this many times before, but sometimes you wonder if this is the group that just won’t click. Connection was slow the first few weeks, but people consistently came. Everything was fine but not necessarily great. That is, until the night we began to talk about family. As I asked a question about how our family has influenced who we are today, one of my group members took a deep breath and said ...