My wife and I parent four boys, six goats, two dogs, two chickens (update: the chickens have been eaten by coyotes) and we live very close to, but not actually in, Portland, OR. I help nonprofits navigate storytelling, fundraising and technology at 343 Consulting.
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Some context: this past summer I took a three month sabbatical from The Well. It is hard to believe that I have been a pastor there for eleven years as of this past October. In the Spring of 2011 I went to my elder team and asked them for a sabbatical for that summer. But […]
This is excellent… “This is what Jesus is pointing to when he calls us to take up our cross. Our cross is not the cantankerous person we have to deal with day by day. Our cross is not the employer we just can’t get along with. Our cross is not that neighbor or work colleague who […]
Earlier this summer I had the unique privilege of going on a prayer walk with Tita Evertz through the streets and alleys of La Limonada. I consider it one of the greatest privileges of my life to be able to walk the path between the two schools that she directs. One is in a section […]
“It is one of the remarkable features of human existence that wondrous and awesome things become familiar and banal, that we live in the world completely and self-satisfyingly blind to its marvels. In the words of scripture, we forget that the Lord has done for us.” The Permanent Revolution, Alan Hirsch and Tim Catchim I […]
I started working at The Well 1 year out of college. That was 2001. Since then, it has been quite the journey. It’s fascinating (to me at least) to look at how I have grown as a Christian and as a leader based on the influences of authors and their books. In this post, I […]
A thought came to me today while reading The Permanent Revolution and it was too long for a tweet. So I offer you my first blog post in a long, long time. As churches, we have to stop asking the question of “What do we get out of it” and begin asking “How is what […]
I prepared this for a leadership call I did with some close friends in the Ecclesia Network. Many of us have found Edwin Friedman’s book, The Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix (Soft Cover / Kindle) exceptionally helpful. I’d say its one of the most influential books I’ve ever read on […]
Fascinating quote from a book we’re using in a group at The Well: “My concern about evangelism is that sometimes there is a greater emphasis on the need for some kind of response than on the clear exposition of the gospel. Telling people they need to come to Jesus, that they must be born again, […]
In 2008 my wife and I adopted a shy, little 10 month old boy from Guatemala. He is now a five-year-old untamable ball of energy. Since that time, one of the things we are continually encouraged by is hearing of more and more people who are adopting, whether it be movies stars or normal people. […]
It’s been interesting. I’ve been a pastor for 10 years. In all this time I’ve always been bi-vocational. You can read about that in other places on my blog. During that time I’ve come to the realization that two things are (generally) true: In the traditional / established church world you aren’t a “real pastor” unless you are […]