Moving

Saturday morning Bev and I went to a friend’s house to help her move.  We got to her new digs about 9:30 AM where we met her to help unpack the first truck load.  That went pretty quickly.
After lunch we went to a storage shed to empty it, and we picked up a few additional items [...]

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Connector

Our Chamber sponsors a monthly “connector” for our members.  These connectors are held at various City businesses which provide refreshments and a great opportunities for networking and visiting with business friends.
Today’s connector was held at our local Servicemaster.  A few months ago, Servicemaster moved to a new and much larger location, so this connector gave [...]

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Weddings

I really enjoy conducting weddings. My most recent occurred at a local museum. The individual that was first asked to conduct the wedding couldn’t, so I was asked if I could take his place. It was an honor to be asked. Weddings are deeply personal occasions, and to be asked to [...]

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Part of the Problem

Brian McLaren included a link to a Bread for the World video that is poignant and convicting.  I’ve attached it below because I think it identifies a too common belief that organizations, not individuals, are responsible for bringing change to the world.  The same abdication of responsibility can be seen at election time when a [...]

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Table Talk

At LifeSpring Church we believe that everybody should be able to participate as fully as they would like.  So we give people ample opportunity to volunteer to lead congregational prayers, read scripture, and provide the Lord’s Supper meditation, which we call the “table talk.” 
When we started doing this over a year ago, you could [...]

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Christmas Parade

Today, December 1, was the day of Merced’s annual Christmas parade.  The parade route went down Main Street right past Playhouse Merced.  LifeSpring was invited to put up a table inside the Playhouse entry way, right next to the sidewalk.  We all thought that was a good idea, although we didn’t know what to expect.
In [...]

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“Church” Jargon

Bob Kaylor, senior writer for Homiletics Magazine, has gotten me to thinking about my vocabulary, particularly in regard to people who are not currently part of a church community.  I’ve struggled with what name to use to refer to this rather large group.  Sadly, I’ve resorted to the all-too-common term, “unchurched.”
Kaylor writes that being “churched” [...]

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Marketing

Marketing is a huge puzzle to me.  Classic church planting models often employ heavy use of direct mail and other forms of mass advertising.  But LifeSpring didn’t have anywhere close to the amount of money that approach would take.  Later we got a one time infusion of $4000 cash that was earmarked specifically for marketing.  We gave direct mail [...]

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Never Eat Alone

I just finished Keith Ferrazzi’s excellent book, Never Eat Alone.  I found out about the book from several references to it on LinkedIn’s excellent business networking site.  Still, you never know what you’re going to find when you buy a book based on others’ recommendations.
Almost from the first page of the book I was hooked.  I knew [...]

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Shakespeare in the Park

Three weeks ago Bev and I went to see The Tempest at one of our local parks.  Shakespeare in the Park is a local production, and it stars talent from the surrounding areas.  Two of Shakespeare’s works are presented each summer, and admission is free.
Attendees bring their lawn chairs and drinks and sit out under [...]

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