I knew something was wrong the minute I walked in the door and he didn’t say hello. Oh man, it was gonna be one of those nights. With a frustrated look, he rattled off his list of complaints:

You’re late again.

I’m hungry and there’s nothing to eat.

It’s been three weeks since you’ve walked with me.

You know, you really take me for granted…

I wonder what it would look like if our dogs loved us this way.

I wonder what it would look like if every single one of us…loved like a dog.

“‘The moral of the story,’ I quipped, ‘is that you have to get off your donkey to help somebody.'”
– Reggie McNeal, Get Off Your Donkey! Help Somebody and Help Yourself

This worship series at Church Venture has been so much fun!  And…such a challenge. The story of the Good Samaritan calls you out.  When faced with the beaten and broken, whether strangers or family or culture, will you walk on by? Or will you Get Off Your Donkey and help somebody, which in turn will help you and help us all?

Hold on to your donkey, because it’s not just a question of what you will do…it’s a question of who you want to be.

The hardest part of the dismount is that moment when you let go and let your feet hit the ground.

I can’t get that song out of my head!  Every Sunday in April we used it as our worship countdown.  And the song just parked itself in my life and won’t go away.  “Little boxes on a hillside, little boxes made of ticky-tacky…”  It’s the funnest song to sing. Especially driving around the suburbs with your windows down. ‘Cuz I’m just that cool.

But you can’t make a politically world-changing drive through the neighborhood without all the facts.  So, what’s ticky-tacky? Continue reading →

“Out of the silent abyss a sound is formed: people hear what was not heard before and are changed by the sound from loneliness into love.”
– Eugene Peterson, Living the Message

I have a friend who has a habit of throwing one-liners at me that catch me off guard and make me laugh. He is intelligent with a dry sense of humor and an uncanny way with words.  Its a lethal combination; one that demands people listen. People want to hear what he has to say. Continue reading →