BLOG

You messed up.

“My co-worker had been inviting me to come for quite a while. I finally relented — and wow, I’m glad I did! I’ll be back next Sunday” (from a first-time guest at The Bridge last week).

I’m babysitting three of my grandkids today and sitting on the patio watching them play. The oldest is pushing her doll around in a little stroller. The boy is driving his big red plastic car, loading and unloading equipment (he doesn’t just play…he plays “work”). The youngest is toddling around from thing to thing, crawling on and getting into everything.

I was discipling someone who was going through a difficult trial. Every week during our meeting, he was asking me to pray for his faith to grow. But every week, he was also in turmoil over the adversity he was up against.

We have so many wonderful things to share from Easter weekend. Not only was the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead a beautiful time, but many lives were transformed.

Philip was born with Down syndrome and attended a third-grade Sunday School class with several other eight-year-olds. The other kids were not sure how to interact with him, so he was always on the outside. But on Easter Sunday, they learned a special lesson from him, endearing him to them.

A couple years ago, Linda and I were in Talkeetna, Alaska at the foot of Denali National Park, and the foot of that giant mountain (now Mt. McKinley again). Most people don’t know that Mt. McKinley is earth’s tallest mountain from base to peak on land. Mt. Everest is taller because it is part of a very high range where the land surrounding it is at a much higher elevation. We started into Denali from an elevation below Chicago, so from our flatland perspective and from the fo

I know that is not what you want. Everyone who has ever lived has had an internal desire to make a difference, to live in such a way that their lives will outlast their time on earth. And you’re no exception.

How thick is your skin? Or are you thin-skinned? What would your co-workers and family or friends say? When was the last time you were offended? How often does that happen? How careful do people have to be around you? Are they walking on eggshells, afraid you’ll either lash out or clam up?

What to do with this huge block of stone? It took months to cut it out and move it from the quarry to its current resting place. Now after two of the finest sculptors in the world attempted to make it look like something meaningful, they gave up. It was now thought to be flawed, useless, and an eyesore in the public square. It sat that way — unused, unfinished, unsightly — for nearly a hundred years.

I remember very little from church growing up. Our church was liturgical and I didn’t understand it. The sermons were boring and I’d almost always fall asleep. It’s one of the reasons I tell our young pastors, “It is a sin to preach a boring sermon!” And that’s why we strive to be engaging, Biblical, applicable, and inspiring.

We had a lot to do to get ready for last weekend. Launching Hoist The Sail involved so much…books designed and printed. Videos prepped and recorded. Sermon series prepared and written. Even music written and arranged. All with a hard deadline.