My counselor’s latest discovery

Recently, I’ve had a few of the hardest days of my year.


Recently, I’ve had a few of the hardest days of my year.

I turned the final page of my fourth Peterson book yesterday. Practice Resurrection has been my favorite of the 5 volume series. It’s a commentary on the book of Ephesians but it’s really a wake up call for the 21st century North American church. I’m toying with the idea of making it required reading for…

I’m preaching this Sunday. It’s one of my favorite things to do. My topic? Jesus’ desert temptations. Part of my inspiration has been Henri Nouwen’s excellent little book, In the Name of Jesus. In it, Nouwen reflects on his transition from Harvard to L’Arche in Toronto to work with people who have developmental disabilities. As…

Ever since posting my “busy pastor” rant a few weeks ago I’ve been trying to slow down. I’m failing. Miserably.

Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. I wish I was better at that. Lately, my mouth has led me into some uncomfortable situations. My most recent New Testament class is a good example of opening my mouth too quickly. Without thinking, I asked my class to reconsider…

A couple of weeks ago I talked about Christ-centred differentiation in a sermon. It’s a hard but crucial concept to understand. In fact, it’s one of the most important concepts I’ve ever learned. And no one does a better job of describing it than Edwin Friedman. Here’s how he defines it: Differentiation means the capacity…

My parents just left. They came up this past weekend to spend some quality time with me, Erika and the kids. It was relaxing and fun. We ate good food, spent time catching up and even had time to put a roof on our treehouse.