Life starts with a disappointment. The first thing you do is emerge from the safety of your mother’s womb, into blinding light and an uncomfortable, sterile room. And the disappointments don’t stop there. Disappointments don’t have to define us. They don’t even have to determine where our lives go. Disappointments will come. But our response…
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I grew up as a pastor’s kid. Recognizing all the horror stories of pastor’s kids who went off the rails, I should technically hate the church right now. But I don’t. It’s not for lack of opportunity. I had so many chances to respond with hatred to things that happened to me. I was stabbed…
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I’ve been reading through the book of Acts. One of the thing that struck me was that immediately after the Church was founded, conflict happened. Peter – our hero of a disciple – got a verbal smackdown from Paul for being a hypocrite. Then Paul splits from Barnabas, his traveling companion, later on. If Paul,…
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The answer is almost always yes, you should compliment that person. Unless you’re a sleazy guy wanting to comment on a girl’s physique, compliments are great. You might be asking, “But what if the compliment goes to their head?” I have a story to illustrate. When I was in college, I also worked on staff…
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It seems like every day my newsfeed is filled with people who think the world is ending. Trump did this… Planned Parenthood did that… The CIA hacked us all… Unfortunately, the end of the world will be the least productive time of our lives. We’ll lack all motivation to do anything, because what does it…
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I believe the more perspectives you have in life, the more chance you have of success. No problem is one-dimensional or even two. There’s a lot of complexity to life, and perspective helps you get a grasp on it. Here are four perspectives I think are absolutely necessary if you hope to live the most…
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Unless you’re planning to live life like a hermit, you’re going to get some relational bumps and bruises. Even well-meaning people will chip away at God’s purpose for your life if you aren’t careful. Here are three things people will steal from you if you let them. You have to be vigilant. 1. Your courage. Even Christians…
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You’re never going to agree with every sermon your pastor preaches. You certainly won’t agree with each blog post that online magazine prints. And there’s a good chance you won’t agree with half of your Facebook friends’ political views. And that’s okay. It’s okay to disagree with someone. I’m actually the type of person that…
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Studies and blog posts are everywhere predicting the decline of the American church. “Churches are dying!” But I’ve actually experienced the exact opposite. I’ve experienced churches barely able to contain the growth God is sending their way. So while some churches might be declining in attendance, I see a brand new generation of churches growing…
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I do a lot of thinking about coffee. Between roasting my own, brewing it on my custom coffee bar, and working from coffee shops around time, the seed of the coffee plant dominates a bunch of my mental space. I’d call coffee a gift from God. But exploring the discovery and use of coffee has led me…
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