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Random Thoughts

Hard Comfort

Fred Smith and I have agreed we should never sit next to each other at a conference or in church because we will continually say sarcastic things and get each other laughing. There’s an underlying reality to this kind of relationship: you have to think alike.

That’s why I read Fred’s blog on a regular basis. And why I’ve shared his post again this week. Fred always has fresh insight into ideas, stories, and especially Scripture. As we enter into what one might call the season of angels — what with them appearing to Mary, Joseph, Elisabeth and Zechariah in …

Random Thoughts,

Election Day Thoughts

Today is election day in the United States, so I’m posting this special edition of Junkyard Wisdom™. See what I did there? It’s a “special edition” like it’s a news show we’re going to be bombarded with for the next few days! Ha!

Anyway, I read something well worth sharing.

Axios has become my go-to news source. I get the morning and evening emails to keep me up to date. On Sunday they posted something that should make all of us pause, reflect, and prepare. I’m going to re-post it here because I think it’s important.

For now, be sure …

Leadership, Random Thoughts,

Another Clueless Guy

A recent Facebook post of mine caught the attention of a long time friend. She asked if it might be a bit too much coming from me, a wealthy white man. There was, she suggested, an air of tone policing as I asked folks to monitor their Facebook posts during the election season. It was my attempt to encourage people to be known by our love, not our opinions. But my comments hit her differently.

We had a good exchange on the topic, mostly out of the public eye, and it was helpful for me process the truth in her …

Random Thoughts,

Ten Years

Ten years ago this month was the launch of Junkyard Wisdom™. Technically my blog started 11-years ago, but it had the ridiculous name Roy Goble’s Blog. I mean really, what creative genius came up with that???

So ten years ago I started a crowdsource competition to find a good name. It was shocking how many people wanted to participate! There were over 75 different nominations in one week. Most of them were truly awful! But they were all fun, most made me chuckle, a few even made me reflective.

Eventually I narrowed it down to eight good options and I …

Leadership, Random Thoughts,

Black Lives Matter

Black lives matter to me.

This makes some of my friends uncomfortable. Usually, for two reasons: they want to say all lives matter, and/or they want to point to the eponymous organization Black Lives Matter which has an agenda they find upsetting.

Well, nonsense.

Our hearts and minds have become so polarized we find it increasingly difficult — even impossible — to embrace opposites. Whatever we call it – spiritual tension, wrestling with God, or cognitive dissonance – we struggle to reconcile two truths that seem to contradict each other.

Worse, we can’t even embrace two obvious truths without wanting …

Junkyard Management, Leadership, Random Thoughts,

Yeah, but …

Have we forgotten how to listen? Have we forgotten how to communicate? Is it all just slogans, memes, and bumperstickers these days? Are those mostly written to be abrasive and provoke others, as they reaffirm our own bias?

I’m not quite ready to say, “Yes, yes, yes, and yes.” But we’re getting close. The tone is sometimes too toxic for listening. Which is sad.

Freedom of speech is at the bedrock of our nation and our culture. It is our strength. But as with all strengths, it can be leveraged against us. It’s easy to divide people simply by saying …

Random Thoughts,

Lumberjack Jesus

This was a week unlike any other. It has been a week of sorrow, frustration, anger, and loss. Reflecting on what to write has left me dizzy and finding the right words is beyond me. Hopefully, in time a unique Junkyard Wisdom perspective on the recent events will come to me.

In the midst of this it is good to have a friend who reminds me Jesus is present. All we need to do is imagine Jesus as a lumberjack. Yes, a lumberjack. Or, well, whatever you wish.

Bruce Kirkpatrick and I met through his service at Extollo, which provides …

Random Thoughts,

What is the Church?

Jesus made it clear to the disciples: you are to be known by your love.

Note that he didn’t say we would be known by our theology, our politics, our opinions, our anger, our success, or our popularity.

Surprisingly, he also didn’t say we would be known by our intelligence, connections, or wisdom (even the junkyard kind).

We are to be known by our love.

Over the last few months, as church buildings sat vacant, have we been known by our love? Is the conversation about reopening them — when, how, is it safe — a loving conversation?

A few …