Doable Evangelism

Over the past several months I’ve e-mailed and conversed with Jim Henderson at Off-the-Map. I love what Jim is doing, teaching ordinary disciples of Jesus to use ordinary means to reach the unchurched–talking and listening.
I’m sure he is making some “Christians” uncomfortable because of the way he questions the methods we have used and [...]

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Intersections

I got to preach yesterday at a church in Stockton. I’ve known that congregation for over 15 years, and so it feels like home when I go there.
Last Sunday, as Bev and I were getting out of the car, we bumped into friends we hadn’t seen in years–Don and Melba. They spend most [...]

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Government

I sat in on a conversation today that made me really angry at my government. The conversation was about the permanent harm that came to someone who served our nation. He was called up by the military and sent away to war.
Now he needs our nation to come to his aid. But we [...]

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June 25

Well, it’s official. June 25 is the date of our first preview service.
This morning I announced the date at a meeting I went to. After months of waiting for things to develop, it was truly exciting to name a date.
We will have three preview services this summer. The other weeks will be used [...]

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Partners

We’ve been visiting Bear Creek Community Church off and on for several months. From the first visit we knew that they were genuinely warm and welcoming people. It was especially gratifying that they didn’t close the door when they learned that we were planting a new church.
That’s why Bear Creek is so extraordinary. [...]

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Car Show

Merced loves old cars and old music. Two of its radio stations play classic rock. And today began the Spring Reunion Car Show. People bring their shiny old cars to the Merced County Fairgrounds to show them off to each other and to people interested in automobiles.
The Chamber of Commerce sponsors the [...]

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Memorial Service

Tonight I got to speak at a California Home Care and Hospice memorial service. CHCH conducts a couple of these a year for families that have lost loved ones. It’s a sweet service that they provide, and I felt blessed to be a part of that. Below are my remarks which I [...]

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Blessing the Dogs

Saturday was a really busy day, starting at 6:30 am at the Junior Olympics. At 9:30 that morning I was scheduled to bring a blessing to the SPCA dog walk, their annual fundraiser for the local chapter.
Bev and I enjoyed ourselves immensely at the dog walk. One of my favorite things about the [...]

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Cinco de Mayo

Last Friday was Cinco de Mayo, the fifth of May. It is a big holiday in Mexico and therefore important to people of hispanic origin. The day is important because on that day 4,000 Mexican soldiers smashed the French and traitor Mexican army of 8,000 at Puebla, Mexico, 100 miles east of Mexico [...]

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Low Jeans

I think I would have given the World Record to this guy for the lowest worn jeans. I have never seen a pair of pants worn that low. He was walking down Main Street and the waist of his pants were literally below his butt–about mid-thigh.
He had to hold the waistband [...]

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