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Not Responsible For Road Debris

Not Responsible For Road Debris

13 May , 2015 No Comments

I was driving on a freeway this week when I noticed the sign on the back of this truck: “Not responsible for road debris.” That’s obviously there as some legal loophole to help prevent the company from being sued. But it got me thinking of how this might play out in a real situation.

Imagine you are driving behind said truck when it hits a bump and a giant piece of something flies up and over the back. Right into your windshield. You begin swerving madly to maintain control of your vehicle and both you and the truck pull off on the next exit. After finding a safe place to stop you get out to see the damage firsthand. You realize you are lucky to be alive. Another few inches and it would have impaled you. However, your car isn’t so lucky. The entire front of it is a mess and you can’t picture it living to drive another day.

Your heart pumps furiously. You stare in disbelief. Once your adrenaline finally levels out, you look over to see the driver of the truck standing next to you. Without saying a word, you give him “the look.” In response to your intense stare he simply asks you a question: “Didn’t you see my sign?”

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Happy Mother’s Day!

10 May , 2015 No Comments

As the scene above aptly shows, for many people today is not a great day to celebrate. This causes me to reflect even more on how fortunate I am to not only have an incredible mother but to be married to an incredible mother.

IMG_7841One of my favorite memories of my mom was when I was dealing with girl issues in junior high. After attempting to go to bed around 8:30pm, she asked me if something was wrong. I spilled my guts and my mom dropped what she was doing (cleaning out her closet) and we sat together for a few hours while my mom poured value back into the depleted junior high school son in front of her. It’s such a simple, sweet memory that embodies how she lives her life daily. I always knew she’d be available to meet me in the moment and to love me no matter what. Now I get to watch her do this for my kids as their “Cici.”

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A Preacher of Peace

"A preacher of peace was executed for his revolutionary ideas. But have the ideas of Jesus somehow become less radical since a Roman governor sentenced him to crucifixion during Passover in the spring of AD 30? No. Two thousand years have not made the ideas taught by Jesus of Nazareth any less radical than those that so threatened Pontius Pilate and the imperial ideology he was aligned with. What has happened over the ensuing two millennia is that we who confess Christ have deftly (and mostly unconsciously) crafted a religion that neatly separates the Jesus who died on the cross for the radical ideas he preached—ideas that Jesus foresaw would lead to his crucifixion."

Brian Zahnd, A Farewell to Mars
The Crudest and the Rudest

The Crudest and the Rudest

29 Apr , 2015 No Comments

Admittedly, I’m what some might call a progressive when it comes to theology. That’s partly from my experiences growing up in the Christian subculture and being overwhelmed from a young age with all of the niceties of Christians. In my view, this type of Christianity robs our faith of much of what it means to be human: the rawness, the brokenness, and the questions. But it is these things which also create the mystery and the beauty.

So to my fellow Christians reading this (and to those who aren’t but are looking to listen in and be entertained for a moment), allow me to encourage your faith today by unsettling it just a bit. You may be wondering what the title of this blog post refers to given my setup thus far. What could words like “crudest” and “rudest” possibly have to do with Christianity? They actually come from a commentary I read on Galatians 5:12. In case you don’t have that verse memorized (which I’m willing to bet you don’t), here’s what it says:

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Jesus According to Matthew

Jesus According to Matthew

27 Apr , 2015 No Comments

This is part of a series of posts on the Biblical view of Jesus. Click here to see them all.

Like I previously did looking at the Gospel of Mark, here is another look at what we see about Jesus from different books of the Bible. It’s fascinating to see what conclusions and observations we can make when we isolate each author’s perspective and retelling of Jesus.

Below are the verses I listed and the observations about Jesus we see in them. A few caveats to consider: 1) these are all taken from the NRSV English translation and not from the original Greek, 2) this is my list after reading through it and there may be inaccuracies or other verses I missed, 3) some are actual titles while others are aspects or behaviors of Jesus.

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Top 20 Quotes from Catalyst West (2015)

Top 20 Quotes from Catalyst West (2015)

17 Apr , 2015 No Comments

This is part of a series of posts on 20 quotes. Click here to see others.

I had the opportunity to attend the Catalyst West conference this week with some of the team from Central. I’ve had the chance to become friends with the Executive Producer of Catalyst the last few years and that has made these experiences even more special. Catalyst is a great shot in the arm of encouragement and connection with other church leaders.

Below I’ve selected twenty of my favorite quotes from the event. Each of these quotes is my best representation in writing of what they said verbally or a summary thereof. Any errors in wording are my own.

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