Category: Fear

In the Arena. Lesson 6—The Full Armor of God, Part 1

In our journey in the theme of In the Arena, we’ve completed our study of I Cor. 16:13, 14 and now turn our attention to a new topic, an extremely relevant passage for us: Eph. 6:10-18. “Put on the full armor of God…” We all have challenges on numerous levels these days, but ultimately, the […]

In the Arena. Lesson 6—The Full Armor of God, Part 1

In the Arena. Lesson 3— Stand Firm in the Faith

As men In the Arena, our theme verses in this blog series this spring are: “Be on your guard, Stand firm in the faith, Be men of courage, Be strong. Do everything in love.” I Cor. 16:13, 14 Our message this week focuses on the 2nd phrase in verse 13, “Stand firm in the faith.” […]

In the Arena. Lesson 3— Stand Firm in the Faith

He Is For You

Right now I think it’s easy to wonder, Is God paying attention? What’s on his mind? The words, music and facial expressions in this powerful collaboration by dozens of churches in the UK provide and answer: He is for you. It’s the same message wherever we live. I encourage you to take a few minutes […]

He Is For You

American Exceptionalism: Random Male Violence, Part II

In my previous post, Random Male Violence, Part I I began to unravel the mystery of why the random violence we regularly encounter happens in the U.S. on a level unlike any other country. Our soul searching requires that we recognize that we are developing wounded males. But all countries have wounded males.

There’s another inescapable reason random mass slaughter happens within American borders so much more than anywhere else— the ease with which anyone, regardless of capabilities, mental health or training can get their hands on assault rifles—weapons of mass destruction. The solution to this issue has proven exceptionally difficult to find, but I don’t think there is any question that this is a central part of the problem.

American Exceptionalism: Random Male Violence, Part II
Our Spirits Groan

Our Spirits Groan

We see the news updates on our phones and can hardly believe what we are seeing. We turn on the TV and shake our heads, wordlessly, stunned at the carnage we once again witness in our broken world.

A morally lost 64 year-old man has killed more 50 and wounded more than 500 attenders of an outdoor concert in Las Vegas. He’d probably never met any of them. The audio of machine gun fire, along with the video of thousands running, crouching, weeping, is almost more than our hearts and minds can handle…

What “No” Doesn’t Mean

It’s taken me quite awhile to learn this lesson. I now know it’s true.

Wisdom from Seth Godin:

What “no” means

I’m too busy
I don’t trust you
This isn’t on my list
My boss won’t let me
I’m afraid of moving this forward
I’m not the person you think I am
I don’t have the resources you think I do
I’m not the kind of person that does things like this
I don’t want to open the door to a long-term engagement
Thinking about this will cause me to think about other things I just don’t want to deal with

What it doesn’t mean:

What “No” Doesn’t Mean