For the Friday post I’m going back to a place where I know and love well and where fun material abounds: the church. How many times have you driven by a church sign that, while well intentioned, it was, let’s just say, poorly executed. These signs speak for themselves even when we wish they wouldn’t.
“I’m in a different stage of my life right now,” said the young man across the counter as I asked him if he went to church. “I don’t like what organized religion has become,” he continued. I hear a variation of that reasoning quite often. But as I probed and asked about his church background,…
“We are good at copying but not good at being authentic.” Those were difficult words for a pastor to say, but both he and I knew they were true. As we talked, he told me he had visited enough congregations to know how churches freely “borrowed” others’ identity. I ran into that problem early on…
I spent Sunday morning with my friends at the Church on The Eastern Shore in Fairhope, Alabama, a very eclectic artist community near Mobile. I rejoiced with them as hundreds of new faces visited the church on the opening Sunday of their new teaching series. That’s a part of my job that gives me great…
I spent the last four days in Jacksonville, FL where I spoke at the First Baptist Church’s Pastors Conference. I have been at this conference for the past 5 years, but this year I made a point to spend more time hanging out with my friend, and conference leader, Trey Brunson and his entourage of…
“How do I convince my boss to try new ideas and technology?” That is one of the most popular questions I get during my speaking engagements. It’s often the young staff from businesses, churches, and organizations wanting to venture out into a social media campaign or a dynamic new mobile tool or app who face…
Men need women. I know that’s a broad and general statement emotionally and philosophically charged, but it’s true. We all know Adam was lonely because he couldn’t find a companion so God created Eve. But in His infinite wisdom, God knew that Adam left alone would probably do a lot of stupid things, that, with…