Life Posts

Unfinished Symphonies

27 May , 2021 No Comments

I turned 38 this week. That means the big 4-0 is now within striking distance. Rather than lament this, I actually like aging. I want to be a person that is perpetually learning and growing and becoming a better version of myself. This past year has offered me numerous opportunities to attempt this.

In his book Strength to Love, Martin Luther King Jr. made this poignant observation: “One of the most agonizing problems within our human experience is that few, if any, of us live to see our fondest hopes fulfilled. The hopes of our childhood and the promises of our mature years are unfinished symphonies.”

King famously had a dream of what could be—and was more successful than most in making it come to pass—yet so much of his life was an unfinished symphony. And so it goes.

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Until My Heart Trusts My Mouth

19 May , 2021 No Comments

I got to see one of my friends from out of state this week. Andy Cherry was in town and played a house show that we got to be a part of with Communion Wine Co. Andy is a worship leader as well as a singer/songwriter and recently hit one million streams on Spotify for his amazing rendition of Nothing but the Blood (see: Spotify link).

At the show this week Andy played a number of songs off of his upcoming album. He asked me if I’d lead us into a time of communion in the middle of the show. I shared a bit about the process of making wine involving crushing, pressing, and draining and then shared a bit of my journey this last year (hint: it has felt a bit like crushing, pressing, and draining). But we made room to experience Jesus in the midst of it that night together.

You could feel the connection of the Holy Spirit at that moment as the song Andy sang just before it tied so beautifully together with what I felt led to share. I asked Andy if he was okay with me sharing the lyrics to that new song—called Mighty is the Name of Jesus—and he gave me the green light. What I appreciate so much about this song is that it isn’t the normal song of victory or success in God, but rather dwells in the pain of following Jesus when it’s really hard.

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Real Life Women

14 May , 2021 No Comments

I read a hilarious observation this week. “Imagine thinking it’s ok to hear the gospel preached from a cartoon tomato but not a real life woman” (Jaymes Lackey).

In case you didn’t grow up in the Christian culture, that’s a reference to the wildly popular show Veggie Tales that featured Bible teaching from cartoon vegetables. But the point is that women continue to have to fight for a place in the Church. That needs to change, and more of us guys need to find ways to elevate the women leading well around us.

In a recent conversation I heard an oft-repeated joke about how as men we can’t let our wife make more money than us. It was said in jest, but it represents a very real reality that men often struggle with. In case you’re wondering, my wife makes the primary income in our family these days. And we’re both okay with it. There’s no way I could do what I’m doing with Communion Wine Co. without her. We’ve actually alternated on who made more money throughout our marriage. Before you think less of me (or my hard-working wife), consider an observation that one of Jesus’ disciples made.

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Look for What Others Don’t See

07 May , 2021 No Comments

My goal these days is to write at least one blog post a week. I post them on Wednesday when I’ve got the time and the inspiration is flowing easily. Sometimes it posts on Thursday. And on weeks like this one, you get it on Friday. This week I took my exam for WSET level 2 certification in wine (and studied obsessively beforehand), wrote a message for my sermon at Central this weekend, and celebrated my son’s eleventh birthday. Hence, the Friday post.

And in addition, I’m a bit mentally thought out. So here’s a fun one for you this Friday. Below is the video of a play that happened this week (on Thursday) from the Yankee’s game. They ultimately lost this game, but this was one of the crazier plays I’ve ever seen. The Astros were using what is referred to as a “defensive shift” which means the infield was not in their normal spots. Gleyber Torres noticed this and took advantage of it.

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Everything You Ever Dreamed of

29 Apr , 2021 No Comments

The Apostle Peter was arguably Jesus’ right hand guy throughout His ministry. Then there was an inner core of the twelve disciples which included Peter, James, and John who got an inside view of things (Mt. 17:1, 26:37; Mk 5:37, 9:2, 14:33; Lk. 8:51, 9:28). The Apostle Paul referred to these three as the “pillars of the church” in Galatians 2:9.

If you look carefully at how Jesus recruited these three standouts, we find an interesting observation.

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Find the Underdogs

23 Apr , 2021 No Comments

I had the chance to spend the week with a handful of pastor friends of mine from around the country. We meet twice a year and share both the highs and lows of ministry. It’s always encouraging to have the chance to be vulnerable with others and to experience others being vulnerable in return. One of the takeaways was how hard it is to lead a church in this season… and nobody thinks it’s going to be anything but more difficult in the future.

As could be imagined, our conversations over the week covered a variety of topics. Many of the topics are widely polarizing issues. On many of the discussions it seemed that to say anything into these discussion was to invite criticism from others who see it differently than we do. To be honest, there were moments it felt like there was no win in sight.

One afternoon we had the chance to talk with Danielle Strickland who happened to be in town. One of the things she shared in her time with our group was about her desire as a kid to always cheer for the underdog. Admittedly, I don’t do this when it comes to my favorite sport. As a Yankee fan, they normally don’t qualify (this year they are exceptionally bad and may be earning underdog status).

But when it comes to real life, I’m a big fan of the underdog. As I process the conversations from this week I’m left with a new strategy I want to pursue. Whenever we think of an issue, what if our desire was to find and align ourselves with the underdog in that situation?

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