How often do you talk about Jesus? I’m not talking about a quick “Jesus loves you.” I’m not even talking about you’re “Thank you, Jesus!” when you passed that police officer speeding and didn’t get a ticket. I’m talking about a real, in-depth conversation about your faith… a thirty-minute, uncomfortable, but necessary conversation about the things you need to address, change, and be encouraged within your faith. It’s probably been a while. We don’t have a lot of forced conver

The Breakfast Club, a popular movie from the 1980s, depicted five different students, all from different high school stereotypes. There was the jock, the nerd, the princess, the bad kid, and the troubled kid. The movie is popular because it shows that behind every cookie-cutter stereotype, a real person is living a real story that’s much more complex. I remember navigating this tension. As a middle school student, I shifted from several identities, trying to navigate a world

This year our second child entered Kindergarten. There’s a lot of preparation that goes into that moment. While we buy their supplies and carefully choose their bookbags and lunchbox, we also want them to be equipped to have an excellent start to their educational journey. Some of my friends teach Kindergarten. It’s been fascinating to hear them talk about parents and their interactions with them. One of my friends noticed a few years ago, “My parents don’t ask about their ch

Every relationship relies on communication. We often think of relationships through titles… boyfriend, mother, best friend, wife, boss, next-door neighbor, etc. Relationships can perhaps be defined by titles, but they exist because we’re working to associate with each other. One of the main ways we do that is through conversation. Think about your relationship with Jesus… it’s sustained by prayer, which is simply an ongoing conversation with Him. If conversation is that vital

“Can you remember the last time someone showed you some grace?” [silence] I asked the question, and I’m sitting there speechless. Nothing. After the momentary, awkward silence, we started stumbling through some pretty pathetic stories. Our minds, collectively, were drawing a blank. We knew that we had been shown grace. We just couldn’t remember it. I noticed that as I processed the question, I remembered messing up, offending people, being mean, and needing grace. I’m sure

I skipped out of Craig Groeschel’s session at Catalyst ’10 this year to have lunch with one of my best buds, Jay, in Atlanta.  I bought the recording, though, and finally got around to listening to it this past week during a workout. I have to admit I kinda of love Craig Groeschel. He is one of those leaders in his mid-forties to mid-fifties that doesn’t make his church a big deal when he’s in the public forum, even though he could. He gives away all of their work (their vid

This Is My Sad Face My wife went out of town for a little bit today.  She’s getting home later tonight, and I kind of miss her.  Amanda is really my best friend.  She just brightens my days.  Other than being extremely funny, she just knows how to care for me. It’s pretty normal during this time of year to face a little bit of depression.  The days shorter, there is less light, and researchers tell us that the lack of sunlight can make us a little more depressive.  I’ve deal

I’m very thankful that God has blessed me with so many people who I can count as friends.  Around Christmas friendship takes on a new premium.  Let’s be honest: it’s just no fun to celebrate this holiday alone.  Life is always better when it’s shared.  God eternally has existed in community with himself (the three persons of the one God co-existing together … figure that one out), and in His image there is a part of us that longs to be together with others. One of my favorit

I was talking with a friend a couple weeks ago about Christmas. It’s pretty obvious that to most of us that so much about our Christmas celebration is cultural.  I mean, our kids learn about different cultural Christmas expressions at school: how the Dutch use shoes instead of stockings and all that nonsense.  People all over the world celebrate this holiday, and they do so with a variety of different cultural traditions. Christmas always wraps it’s expression in the clothes