Mike Szczepaniak was a big guy, tall and strong. A football player and a carpenter. A husband and a father. As big and strong as he was physically, his kind and gentle heart was even bigger. I know that sounds like the worst cliché ever. I don't care. Every cliché has roots in truth and …
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Learning in the Boundary Waters
How would you sum up your experience...in 1 sentence? ...Asked Courtney Perry, the professional photographer who was cataloging our Doctor of Ministry cohort through pictures, video & audio. (She is also the spouse of our lead teacher, Tony Jones.) Such a question! Just one sentence to encapsulate: 10 days talking about Christian spirituality through the …
“Those to whom much is given, much is expected”
Maybe it's because 6+ years into this parenting thing, every laugh, every joke, every hand held, every kiss given, every "Daddy, watch me do this!" still melts my heart. Or maybe it's because of 16+ years (and counting) spent as a pastor working with, talking with, listening to, dreaming with, consoling, encouraging, praying with, praying …
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Dream big dreams
In the last year and a half we’ve seen report after report of teenagers (as well as kids not even yet in their teens) who have been bullied so badly that they took their own life. And there are many, many others who don’t take their own life, but who try to cope with their …
“One word can bring you round…changes”
I've made a couple changes here at the ol' blog project, with a new theme and a new header picture... I think it brightens up the place. But then again, I'm colorblind so what do I know? What do you think? Like the new look?
The White Sox new closer
I'm very bummed that the Blackhawks couldn't complete the comeback, losing Game 7 in OT...Next goal wins the series. Damn, that's intense. Meanwhile, the White Sox are still struggling. But they managed to win their second game in a row. Yankees threatened with runners on 1st & 2nd with only one out in the bottom …
Let’s put an end to cyberbullying
Want to do something about cyberbullying? Me too. But really? All of the "if you REALLY care about ___ then you'll post THIS as your status" memes on facebook make me twitchy. So I'm not going to tell you what to do. But I am going to tell an idea my new friends at Lockport's …
RE-POST: Tyler Clementi and Me. And You. (via god is not elsewhere / some conversation about movies, art, politics and spirituality with gareth higgins)
There is no joking around about this one: I'm furious. And my heart is shattered. 6 teens from across the country dead at their own hand. 6 teens dead at their own hand because they were mercilessly bullied. 6 kids bullied, 6 kids dead because they were gay. And those are just the ones we …
Offering of Letters – Update
As I wrote here and here, my church (Woodridge United Methodist) participated in a Bread for the World Offering of Letters on Sunday, August 22. It was still quite hot that day. And, for many of our families, it was also the last weekend before school started. Perhaps for those - and a myriad of other …
Theology After Google: More Thoughts from Afar
All that Ken Silva talk distracted me so much I never really said anything about the TAG gathering itself. (Though that tangent was hardly without value - it ultimately turned me into a bona fide emergent when Silva slammed me! Seriously, I'm not worthy. There are many more important emergent writers/thinkers/leaders who deserved this honor …
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All That I Can't Leave Unsaid 