Two years ago, a passing hurricane dropped a tree onto the roof of a nearby house. Not just a few low-hanging branches, but an entire tree, resting perpendicular to the ridgeline from the backyard to the front. It was a tragedy, and the neighborhood grieved for the homeowners. Thankfully, it didn’t remain a tragedy. Once […]
Tag: Church Essentials
Seven ways to mentor one another in the local church.
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 […]
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 […]
Patrick O’Brian on the storms of life
The tempests of life don’t always surprise us. Some we’ve faced before, and we often see them coming. When that’s the case, it helps to remember the experience. There’s an episode in Patrick O’Brian’s The Wine-Dark Sea that features four common stages of a storm. Though no two trials are identical, these stages rang true for me. […]
The fifth church essential: my own willingness to belong
It’s easy to write about church essentials. It’s like writing about exercise, or parenting. Until I’m committed, I’m only shouting from the stands. The reality of church for most of us is that we play a passive role. We’re the audience. Attendees. The best church on earth is only as healthy as the mindset of […]
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