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When the type on his printer began to grow faint, Bob called a local repair shop, where a friendly clerk informed him the printer probably needed only to be cleaned. Because the store charged $50 for cleanings, he told Bob he might be better off reading the printer’s manual and trying the job himself. Surprised by his candor, Bob asked, “Does your boss know that you discourage business?”

I’ll admit, it used to make me feel uncomfortable. I’m sure some of you wonder why others in church lift their hands while singing, and it might bother you how people around you cheer and clap between songs. It wasn’t like that in the church I grew up in. But then again, I was bored to tears in the church I grew up in!

Reese (age 3 then) and Remy (6 mo. then) were in the car together. It was feeding time for Remy and she was getting fussy, trying to suck on everything within reach. Our daughter, Erica, had a bottle ready, but couldn’t give it to her while driving.

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice” (Philippians 4:4). Paul’s words to the Philippians here were a theme of that epistle. And Paul wrote this from prison! “Rejoice” here is a command. Writing from very difficult circumstances, he repeatedly expressed joy and rejoicing, and commanded people experiencing trials and persecution to rejoice.

My grandpa was in Africa as a volunteer carpenter for a Lutheran mission. He went because he loved to hunt, and it was his dream to hunt big game in Kenya. One day on a hunt, he walked by a tree with a spitting cobra in it, lying in wait for prey. These cobras attack by spitting venom into the eyes of their potential prey to blind them.

Several years ago, a video went viral. Someone captured their dog trying to drink the shadow of running water on a brick wall. You can see the freeze frame from that video here. I chuckled along with millions of other viewers while watching what this dog kept trying to do.

I thought it was odd. “They are just trying to get attention…wanting to be noticed for being super spiritual." I was saved in a church where the format was less formal, but nobody ever raised their hands during worship or dared to show any emotion.

Climbing Mount Everest has a fascinating history. Until the mid-1990s, one-quarter of all people who attempted to reach the summit died in the process. Two years ago was the deadliest year for those making the attempt.

I felt a tinge of anxiety sitting on my patio when the garbage truck showed up. I’m not a hoarder or even a pack rat, but I admit I have trouble throwing some things away. I tend to think, “But what if I end up needing this?” I often end up keeping things that I can’t find when I do need them, because I keep too many things that I rarely use.

It seemed like an impossible distance. I was 19 years old, walking along Texas State Highway 69 just outside of Tyler, Texas. I put my thumb out, hoping to get a ride to Alvin, Texas, about 230 miles away. I didn’t think I’d ever get there. But after 30 hours of hitchhiking and walking, I made it, exhausted, and fell asleep on the lawn of a church.

If you are new to The Bridge, you may be wondering what kind of church we are. And if you are new to the church world, you might be wondering what a church is for.

I don’t have any tattoos. I often tell people that I have a conviction against them, because I have a conviction against unnecessary pain! And yet, sometimes, I choose pain. I did at the dentist a month or so ago. I chose short-term pain in order to avoid long-term tooth loss. Every time I workout, I choose pain. You know the saying, “No pain, no gain.” It’s painful to have tough conversations, but it’s usually best to have them anyway.

Chemo patients and their families complained to no avail. A hospital in Canada gave permission to a local funeral home to post advertisements on the doors leading into the cancer center. Imagine how it felt for them, going in for treatment, to see a funeral home flyer. Upsetting to say the least. And poor taste on the part of both the funeral home and the hospital. It wasn’t until a family member of a patient posted it on social media, causing major backlash, that the hospita

I saw an automobile sneak through a red light at the end of a yellow at the same time that a bike blew through the red without slowing. The bike was going straight and the car was turning left, and they collided. The car was barely moving and, fortunately, the woman on the bike was not hurt…but she was mad! She jumped up and ripped her helmet off, and with bike in tow, ran after the car and screamed at the driver.

In his book None of These Diseases, S. I. McMillen tells a story of a young woman who wanted to go to college, but her heart sank when she read the question on her application that asked, “Are you a leader?” Being both honest and conscientious, she wrote, “No,” and submitted the application, expecting the worst. To her surprise, she received this letter from the college: “Dear Applicant: A study of the application forms reveals that this year our college will have 1,452 new l

A couple years ago, shortly after getting my pilot’s license, Linda and I took an impulsive flight to Rochelle, Illinois for dinner. While many restaurants were still closed because of the pandemic, I had heard there was a decent restaurant at the airport that was open.

We are six weeks away! Six weeks from launching our fifth campus (fourth location)!

A couple of weeks ago, Linda and I were in Talkeentna, Alaska, at the foot of Denali National Park, and the foot of that giant mountain. Most people don’t know that Denali is earth’s tallest mountain from base to peak on land. Those mountains that are taller are part of very high ranges where the land surrounding them are at a much higher elevation. We started into Denali from an elevation below Chicago, so from our flatland perspective, and from the foot of the mountain, Den

When the type on his printer began to grow faint, Bob called a local repair shop, where a friendly clerk informed him the printer probably needed only to be cleaned. Because the store charged $50 for cleanings, he told Bob he might be better off reading the printer’s manual and trying the job himself.

There are days, and sometimes weeks, when disappointing circumstances can seem overwhelming. You feel like you're barely keeping your emotional head above the water, and then you see a giant wave approaching.