Browsing Category

Random Thoughts

Random Thoughts,

Haiti

A few folks have asked for my thoughts about the tragic earthquake in Haiti. I visited Haiti back in my Target Earth days, and it had a profound impact on me. Upon my return I was, for the first time in my life, in culture shock. Or at least something close to it. Now please realize, I’ve seen poverty all over the world. I’ve been to dozens and dozens of countries. But my experience in Haiti was beyond anything else.

Part of this stems from the timing. I arrived in Haiti just a few weeks after the United States negotiated …

Read more

PathLight, Random Thoughts,

Christmas Greetings From PathLight

Recently wrote this for the PathLight email blast, but thought I’d post it here as well.
—————-
David L. Fleming writes, “The son of God became poor by becoming incarnate. He embraced poverty in the circumstances of his earthly life. God was born in a stable manger and was given the name Jesus. His parents fled with him as refugees to escape a murderous tyrant. Later he lived a simple workman’s life in Nazareth. He became an itinerant preacher and teacher, without wife or children, without a home. He died utterly poor — stripped of even his clothing, an executed …

Read more

Family, Random Thoughts,

Books for the Year

Friend of mine (Kelly) asked what my favorite top five books of the year were. Then somebody else asked me the same thing. Then another person. Okay, I get the message.

Problem is, it’s difficult to list just five. And it’s even more difficult to figure out how to rate them. One book might be beautifully written, while another less so but far more thought provoking. And it’s hard to compare fiction with, say, a book of history. Even though I tend to read books that focus on either contemporary trends or history, I try to diversify. Once a month …

Read more

Random Thoughts,

The Eco-Fascist Speaks

My friend Scott Sabin is President of Floresta. I’ve known Scott since 1993 when we met at an event hosted by Target Earth (I am the co-founder of Target Earth and was Chair of the Board back then). Scott has worked hard to build Floresta into a significant organization. They’ve been “under the radar” for many years and they are now rightfully receiving the recognition they deserve. What prompted this blog entry is the recent article in Christianity Today magazine about Floresta, which is not yet online but will be at www.christianitytoday.com.

Things were different in 1993 for those of …

Read more

Junkyard Management, Random Thoughts,

Too Big to Fail?

A few months back there was a lot of talk about a bank or other company being “too big to fail.”  Along with that talk is a lot of concern about “big government”.

Personally, I think the conversation is a bit shallow. People haven’t fully thought this through, in my humble opinion, which I admit isn’t so humble.

If big is bad….then the logic needs to go the full way.

I’m concerned about companies that are supposedly too big too fail and I have long been a trust buster, as Teddy Roosevelt might have said.  I’m against big government, in …

Read more

Random Thoughts, Westmont,

The Willis Family

When D’Aun and I were seniors at Westmont College we signed up for a 2-week program called Sierra Treks.  This program had us in the Sierra Mountains learning to cross-country ski, rappel off mountains, navigate by compass, and other fun things.  Sounded like a simple and fun way to earn a couple of credits.

It turned out to be a life changing experience.  The outdoor activities were great fun, although I remember one sub-zero night when I wondered what I was doing in a sleeping bag in the Sierras in January!   But the outdoor times were only a part of …

Read more

Apocryphal, Emerging Ministries, Random Thoughts,

Church Fatigue

Okay, so I’m in a grumpy mood and need to be curmudgeon for a bit. Sorry, but this entry focuses on a pet peeve of mine.

It came to mind when I had an interesting conversation with a friend.  He will remain nameless because he’s smart enough not to draw attention to himself.

The conversation was about fatigue with the Church. But we were having a hard time defining exactly what it is we are tired of.  It took us some time to figure it out.  We aren’t tired of what we’re doing in the Church or in our personal …

Read more