Karl Vaters makes an important point in his book, Small Church Essentials. Many of us learned the basics of our faith in Sunday school or discipleship classes, but it takes mentoring to understand how to put it all into practice. The goal of mentoring is to help us move from knowing to becoming. Here are […]
Category: discipleship
Four observations about the faith of Abraham.
Many Bible characters are known by a significant trait or experience. Samson was strong. Moses recorded the Ten Commandments. David defeated Goliath, Job suffered, Jonah ran, Thomas doubted, and Peter walked on water. Abraham’s distinction, however, was his faith. If you search the Internet for ‘Heroes of the Faith’ you’ll find Abraham near the top of […]
The personal surveyor.
A nearby city is replacing its sewer mains. They’re excavating entire roadways by employing all the backhoes, bulldozers, bucket loaders, dump trucks and cranes you can squeeze into a residential neighborhood. Between the deep chasms and lumbering vehicles, it’s quite the event. Yet, despite all the screeching, scraping, thumping, and rumbling about, what caught my […]
Seven things I learned about community from a Louis L’Amour Western.
Ninety people in a theatre aren’t a community — they’re strangers sharing an experience. The same is true for passengers on a plane or shoppers in a store. Community is the product of shared ownership and a commitment to the common good. There are many good books on developing community, but the best portrayal I’ve […]
We know we’re not staying, yet we don’t expect to leave.
Long-distance moving seems an apt metaphor for dying. Even when we know we’re going, we never expect to leave. Whether a move is welcome or of necessity, it’s difficult to say goodbye. Deciding what not to bring is stressful, and cultivating new rhythms and relationships takes time. It’s a clumsy bundle of emotions and disruption. Still, […]
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