How To Be An Interesting Person

All around you there are groups of people who are influencing and being influenced. You can (and should) be part of the discussion, but you're too busy doing something that nobody else cares about. In your little "Christian" subculture bubble, you have no influence and few friends. Here are some ...

Lifesavers and Letter Writing

I hate when people give advice about evangelism. "What you need to do," they start, "is buy a five-pound bag of individually-wrapped Lifesavers candy. Then, print about five hundred business cards with the plan of salvation on the back. Staple a lifesaver to each of the business cards, and ask ...

Taking Advantage

Backyard Bible Clubs. Youth Camp. Sports ministries. If you do any of these as evangelistic outreach, I've got a question for you: are you taking advantage of children?Yeah, I know- you came to faith through VBS when you were six years old. If it "worked" for you, it can't be ...

You Are What You Read

A couple of weeks ago, David Rogers tagged me with a game that asked me to list some books I've read recently. It sort of made the rounds through the blogosphere (again), and many of my fellow bloggers had played along. There are categories, such as "One book that changed ...

Vietnamese Takeout

Despite the fact that people are always telling me that history is important, I've never really been a history buff. In fact, I learned nearly everything I know about history by watching Hollywood movies. I didn't even know about the Apollo 13 thing until, well, Apollo 13. Forest Gump taught ...

Be True To Your School

In my last post, I wrote about the resolution to "Develop an exit strategy from public schools" that is being proposed to the Southern Baptist Convention. Since we're trying to put together an effective entrance strategy here in Western Europe (doing the opposite of what the resolution calls for), I've ...

Entrance Strategy

Every year, Southern Baptists from across the United States get together in an annual Convention. This is a time for them to discuss denominational direction, elect leaders, and share what God is doing. One key part of the meeting is the proposal of resolutions. These are actions that members would ...

Just Asking

I recently attended a conference workshop where the speaker asked a lot of questions. She was talking about postmodernism (yeah, we still have to have the "Postmodernism" talk every time we get together), and sharing from her experience with a postmodern European guy. She presented their interaction as a ...

A New Field of Service

So here I am- a continent, three cultures, and two months since my last post. A lot has changed. For starters, I'm still working with the IMB. Our regional leadership has been a tremendous support as we've begun the "About Europe" meetings and worked to launch the Upstream Collective. My ...

The UpStream Collective

Several people have asked about what's next for me. The truth is, I don't know. I still don't know what I'm going to do for a living after we arrive in the U.S. Sure it sounds irresponsible and immature to up and leave a perfectly good job and regular paycheck ...

The Only Thing Harder Than Arriving? Leaving.

I'm not the sensitive emotional type. I never cry at weddings. I hate romantic comedies. I think that pictures of babies in flower pots should be considered cruelty. I don't save souvenirs, birthday cards, or mementos. As I pack up to leave the field, I'm experiencing this strange sensation- emotion. ...

The Devil Is In The Details

In the comments section of my last post Now Tell Us How You Really Feel, a reader asked about some of the details of my transition from the field back to the United States. In the past, I haven't written as much about these sorts of details; partly to protect ...
May 6th 2008
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Now Tell Us How You Really Feel

I'd like to thank everyone who's sent emails and comments in support of our move. I'm not sure what it means when people seem to be glad you're leaving, but I'm going to take it as an encouragement. One thing that many people are asking is whether I'm going to really ...

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