“Paint Me a Picture” . . . is a new weekly feature of the ChosenRebel Blog. Sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words, maybe more. Like the picture above or the one below from another angle. It looks like an artist painstakingly wove the fence with grass for as far as the eye … More Paint Me a Picture (God in a fence)
“It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations,if you live near him.” J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit ( Ballantine Books, 1937, 1938, and 1966 ) p. 207. This post relates to all planning but I have church planters in mind most particularly. I love church planters because of what they are … More Planning Pitfalls
Because of my love for Russian novelists, I was recently asked why people think Dostoevsky is so great. So for what it’s worth, here’s my short answer. Because his character descriptions are densely textured and believable. Because his phycological understanding of humanity is complex and yet understandable. Because he deals with universal issues and questions. … More Why Dostoevsky is Worth Your Time
It was an innocent question. I’m sitting at a pastor’s retreat acting as one of a team of four mentors seeking to encourage 15 pastors, with one exception, the oldest of whom is 50, most of which are in their 20’s or 30’s. “What will you take away from this week?” I’ve listened to a … More An Apex Predator Stalking Younger Pastors
Years ago, Steven Covey wrote a book called Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. It has been a runaway best seller ever since and has spanned all kinds of subsidiary products and spinoffs. One of them was called “The Weekly Compass.” The idea was to use a small slip of paper to do six things … More Roles and Goals
Thirty-nine years ago, a long ride with Dennis Rainey through the foothills of Colorado outside Fort Collins helped to change the trajectory of my life. I am eternally grateful for his wisdom, compassion and understanding. This morning I woke up and saw Dennis Rainey’s latest newsletter from The Family Ministry. It was so good and … More “I Couldn’t Shake the Thought”
Fall Groups forming now.
[ Note: I started this post back in June. On Friday, of last week, Stephnie and I traveled back up to Philly for a family wedding, my nephew Scott (youngest son of my sister Mary and husband Eric) married his beautiful bride Alexandra. Saturday was spent eating and visiting with all of my brothers and … More They Loom Large
I love to hear the voices of children at play. I don’t know if it because I am from a BIG family or what, but a child’s voice gleefully playing together with other children always brings a smile to my face. Maybe it is part of being the oldest of 7 children. With 26 grandchildren, … More Children at Play?
There are endless fascinations to be found in Psalm 119. It is an acrostic psalm. It is the longest psalm. Nearly every verse mentions the word of God. Study the word “affliction” some time. After that you might try looking at the word “meditate” (see also “desire”, “delight” and other words associated with cherishing the … More The Six “I am” Statements of Psalm 119
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