The Danger In Rethinking

Perhaps the greatest irony of this quote is that it is credited to a man who fancied himself a comedian of sorts. Not very funny stuff. The thought demonstrates both the desire that we possess to be thought of as thinkers coupled with the more difficult side of thinking that brings the hard work. Recently […]

No Excuses Living

First and foremost it should be known that I am writing this particular post as an expert… an expert in striking out and making excuses. My reason for examining this topic is because lately I have been prone to make excuses almost constantly – especially when the task ahead is particularly difficult. The following quote […]

FAITHFULNESS Is the Fruit of the Spirit

Looking at the original languages that the Scriptures were written in often give us a view of their deeper meaning. Today is a clear example of such. When I think of the English word faithful I think of being full of faith or being steady and constant. The idea definitely includes those things, but the […]

GOODNESS Is the Fruit of the Spirit

The header photo for this post may seem strange until you know the definition of this quality. I had no idea what this fruit was targeting. Goodness is all about transparency and honesty. This is one of the greatest dangers in modern Christianity. Often we are so consumed with our autonomy (even wrapped in religious […]

KINDNESS Is the Fruit of the Spirit

There may be none on this list I struggle with more than being kind. You’d probably expect that it’s external forces that I blame for this. The truth is that the great struggle comes almost entirely from within. First… from within me. Then… from within my family. Let me explain. This should help you understand […]

PATIENCE Is the Fruit of the Spirit

Our culture has an obsession with doing things faster. I presently work with those in the manufacturing industry and they are constantly pushing to produce more “widgets” in less time. We know how important food can be to fuel our bodies, yet often we settle for a fast food choice based on convenience. Even our […]

PEACE Is the Fruit of the Spirit

When it comes to this particular discussion, there is one verse that (for me) defines the conversation, “…you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand” (Philippians 4:7). I used to marvel at this verse, unsure of its true and deepest meaning. What is peace? Unlike the beautiful picture, it is much more […]

JOY Is the Fruit of the Spirit

Once again we are tempted to settle for a mere cultural definition of what this attribute looks like. I like to say that joy is primarily different than happiness in that it is not dictated by circumstances. When we think of the answer to the question, “Are you happy?”, most often we mentally visit our […]

LOVE Is the Fruit of the Spirit

Perhaps the most sought after and illusive word in the English language is love. Musicians pine for it. Authors write about it. In many ways we all long to experience it in its truest form. But what is love? Is it a relationship… a feeling… an action or attitude? The answer is likely… yes! Even […]

IRON and FIRE Ministries

First a disclaimer: my close friend and weekly accountability partner is the founder and president of this ministry. That is the last shred of disavowal that you will hear from me in the next few days. Jeff Knapp and I first met and became friends (contrary to the belief of some that it was our […]

CCM: Changing With the Times

In these days of corporate takeovers and the overall conglomeratization of businesses, names and functions change. In case you’re not a hockey fan, the CCM logo above is arguably the largest manufacturer of hockey equipment in the world… certainly the most recognizable. As I thought of them in relation to this post I did not […]

Creative Change

Most of us have an adverse reaction to change. After all, we work hard to create environments that are appealing to us. Why would we want to change them? Because we naturally resist change we want to build this philosophy of creative change into the value system of Process Church. The reasons to have creative […]