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Random Thoughts

Are you still so dull?

Yes, yes I am.

Despite 2000 years of trying, we followers of Jesus still manage to misunderstand Jesus. At least in part because we insist on taking things literally.

This struck me when, for about the millionth time, I was laughing at how clueless the disciples were. Matthew 15 contains a great example. Jesus tells a parable about what goes into a mouth isn’t what makes us unclean, but what comes out of it does. Seems pretty easy to understand, don’t you think?

And yet Peter — the Rock, the man, the big shot — …

Random Thoughts,

Spiritual Growth – Sorta

Last week’s post focused on the endless expressions of the church. Cultures, traditions, languages, theology, worship style, history, even church architecture all contribute to differences. Thank goodness.

A friend mentioned something I spoke about in a small group years ago. It is an example of different cultural contexts and makes a nice follow up to last week. So here goes.

I have a love/hate relationship with the phrase “spiritual growth.”

If grace exists, is offered, and is accepted, then the separation between us and God is bridged. Right? Let’s say right. Then it’s not logical to think spiritual growth …

Generosity, Random Thoughts,

Messy Viewpoints

There are seemingly endless expressions of how to do church. It’s something I love about my faith because there are always new, creative, interesting things happening. The church is not homogenous, thank goodness.

This is true globally of course. Cultures, traditions, languages, and contexts all contribute to the diversity.

It’s also true locally. It’s expressed through dozens of denominations, traditions, and teaching or worship styles.

Despite all these options, most of us, most of the time, attend one kind of church. The upside of this is we come closer to true unity because we surround ourselves with people who think …

Goble Properties, Junkyard Management, Leadership, Random Thoughts,

Small Business

Hey, do you know anyone who owns a small business? Odds are you do. So you probably know how hard the past year plus has been for all small businesses.

If the person you know is a person of faith, you might forward this article to them: Buy Local (For God’s Sake): Why the Church Should Partner With Small Business.

Also, if you know anyone in church ministry, you might share that same article.

One of the reasons I volunteer for the De Pree Center and admire groups like Faith Driven Entrepreneur (among others) is because they see how our …

Random Thoughts,

Ten Things Every Traveler Should Pack

Way back in 2017, when travel was a given and we all shared sneezes with each other, I shared a silly post about things you should always pack. Flying? Road trip? Weekend getaway? Whatever it was, this was a list you could rely upon.

For whatever reason it resonated with folks and is still one of my most popular posts (though far behind me telling pastors to get off social media).

This is shaping up to be a gigantic travel season, so it seemed wise to repost this. I’ve updated it just a tiny bit but overall it seems …

Random Thoughts,

Orthopraxy Eats Orthodoxy for Breakfast

Decades ago I wrote an article titled, “Faith Without Works is Dead, but Faith Without Doctrine is Alive and Well.” The idea for the article came about after visiting a church where the pastor gave a theologically scattered sermon. He was all over the map.

Despite this, the church was thriving. It was remarkably generous, kind, hospitable, and loving. There was a lot of doing, not doubting. The faith of the people in the church was strong despite the lack of any coherent doctrine.

My article is long lost from dozens of computer crashes, failed backups, and quirky updates. Plus, …

Generosity, Junkyard Wisdom Rebuilt, Random Thoughts,

John the Baptist on Instagram?

A recent email from a marketing guru hit my inbox just about the time I was reading Luke 3:7-14. I was struck by the contradiction – the marketing guy was basically encouraging me to be a nice person, to pay for influencers to say nice things about my books, and to create a nice, consistent, enticing message.

By contrast, John the Baptist begins in verse seven with, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?”

I had to laugh. There’s some junkyard in John: blunt, critical, not real concerned with your feelings. I don’t think …

Family, Random Thoughts,

Advent and Angry Bulls

It’s April so you probably aren’t expecting a post about Advent. But in recent months I’ve begun brainstorming about a daily Advent devotional for later this year. And it began with a story about an angry bull.

Last year I found out that July 12 is National Cow Appreciation Day. And no, I don’t really know what that means either. Do we shout, “Hey, thanks for the milk in my cereal this morning!” when we see cows in a pasture?

Whatever, National Cow Appreciation Day reminded me of a story. The memory made me laugh. It seemed like others would …