Category Archives: Religion

The Importance of Direction

Yesterday at church, I had an epiphany of sorts. The preacher was going through Acts 16, talking about how Paul obeyed the Spirit’s direction. Instead of heading north-northeast into Asia, the Spirit led him to enter Europe, which was west. North-northeast vs. west. That’s a drastic difference on a compass. Just think, if you liveContinue reading “The Importance of Direction”

Speak John Doe

Sometimes we simply have to connect the dots. We have the knowledge, but it’s scattered in our brains like debris blowing in the wind. At times, we get lucky, we see the pieces come together, and it’s like a glorious epiphany. So here’s the first piece of debris, the first dot: The Greek of theContinue reading “Speak John Doe”

Turning Vision Into Action

Turning Vision Into Action is another book I am currently reading. It was written in 1996 by George Barna, head of the Barna Research Group. In the book, he obviously talks about vision. He says vision is a clear and concise mental portrait of a preferable future, imparted by God to His chosen servants, basedContinue reading “Turning Vision Into Action”

A Peek Into My Prayer Closet

The other day I received a text from my wife. She said our daughter had reached a new level of bullheadedness. Then she asked me to pray for her. From the punctuation and tone of the overall message, I could tell she was halfway joking. But after I chuckled, I realized I needed to dealContinue reading “A Peek Into My Prayer Closet”

A Way We Can Learn (1)

Sometimes we make decisions in life, not knowing why we make them. For example: Back in July of last year, I started a job in Crawfordsville. Hannah and I were living at my parents’, in the upstairs of the garage, and our daughter, Sevaeh, had just entered the world. A month later, we decided toContinue reading “A Way We Can Learn (1)”

Portlanders

I met a plethora of people when I lived in Portland. A few of them were very passionate. For example: Dr. Paul Louis Metzger. When I told people I had signed up for his classes at Multnomah Seminary, they looked at me like I was crazy and simply said, “Good luck.” I thought this aContinue reading “Portlanders”

Dave, Bob, Darren, Danny

The more I think about PASSION, the more I realize there are passionate people all around me. For example… Dave Keesee- This guy “led me to Jesus.” No, “he brought Jesus to me.” Actually, I concede, I don’t know how to phrase it. What happened was that I had grown up learning about Jesus inContinue reading “Dave, Bob, Darren, Danny”

The Good Ol’ Emergents (2)

Defining the emergent church is like trying to nail Jell-0 on a wall. Thus, it would be better for me to tell you why I studied it, what I studied, and what I learned, both positive and negative. I began my study in 2007 because I was beginning to hear how bad the emergents were.Continue reading “The Good Ol’ Emergents (2)”

The Good Ol’ Emergents (1)

A few days ago, a friend asked me what I thought about the emergent church. I paused for a long time before answering. And during that pause, two things crossed my mind: Aren’t we over this yet? What does he need to know? I thought the first because, well, the Emergent Village was created inContinue reading “The Good Ol’ Emergents (1)”

God as Artist

Often I hear people talk about God as Creator. I agree. God is Creator. But when I hear people mention this, they immediately say God is all-powerful, all-knowing, sovereign. He spoke and the world came into existence. Again, I don’t disagree. I just think this is an incomplete picture, because if God is Creator, GodContinue reading “God as Artist”