It’s really no secret what I do for a living. I’m a pastor of a church in a small town in north central Ohio. As a pastor I’ve seen many amazing and wonderful things, witnessed significant challenges, walked with people through some dark moments, sat with people in their sadness, challenged people when their witness…
So there’s this thing that’s making the rounds in the church world that there is a whole generation of young people that are missing out on something in the church. I think that’s kind of bogus, but I guess you can believe what you want on that topic. If you stick around for a few…
I’m one of those people who thinks in pictures. So you say cookie and I picture a homemade chocolate chip cookie. You say truck and I picture the truck I currently drive, no matter what exact truck you’re referring to! Knowing how my mind works, I thought I’d share some things to consider when we…
The last time we got together we discussed two key steps for making disciples along with a critical definition. You can find more details on those here, but the point is to read the bible daily and meet weekly with your triad to break down what you’ve read. It’s really that simple. Now there are…
For decades the church has done a relatively decent job at measuring the things that are measurable. Things like church attendance, Sunday School attendance, offerings are the typical measures for a local congregation. But is there a better metric? Is there a metric that better aligns with the present reality of the church life in…
One of my biggest fears in life is being trapped and have no way out. I don’t like water because I’m a tad afraid of getting trapped below the water. I know it’s one of those irrational kind of fears, but it’s a real fear for me. I don’t care for enclosed spaces and the…
Growing up in the church world I was taught about good and bad, God and Satan, heaven and hell. We even had some of those not so greatly illustrated kids books about these topics. One image that always stuck out at me was the one of the devil, Satan. I don’t know about you but…
We’ve all experienced it. We’ve all seen it. Felt it. Went through it. We’ve all had the taste of loss put in our mouths. Maybe the loss of a loved one to cancer. Maybe it was the loss of a job. Maybe we didn’t get the promotion and feel as if we lost out on…
My family has a tradition that formed several years ago. Once a month we gather for a family dinner. I think it started when we all kind of had established lives that took us in a variety of directions. Being from a larger family where everyone is busy with work and other functions of life,…
It seems like the right thing to do right now to jump on the bandwagon of the #prayforukraine craze. Don’t get me wrong by any means, we do need to pray for Ukraine. The people of Ukraine are enduring horrible circumstances. I can’t even imagine what they’re going through right now. Having a son in…
