Monthly Archives: December 2015

On the Radio – Walk the Way

On the Radio – Walk the Way

  • Posted on December 30, 2015
  • /Under General
This is Walk the Way, brought to you by Q Place, I’m Jeff Klein. And I’m Pam Klein. Tonight, Chicago will have a new, New Year’s Eve experience that, they say, will rival the one in Times Square. I have to admit I’m a skeptical. And maybe a wee bit biased. I grew up just on the other side of the Hudson in New Jersey. You’re going have to convince me. The plans are big: It’s going to be along the Chicago River, with three stages for music, and a midnight countdown featuring a giant star rising into the sky,...Read more …
Change the World

Change the World

  • Posted on December 28, 2015
  • /Under General
In the opening scene of the movie Pay It Forward, a 7th grade Social Studies teacher is talking to his students on the very first day and asks his class, “What does the world expect of you?” One student responds, “Nothing.” Teacher asks another question: “What if you don’t like what the world is? What if it’s a big disappointment?” Another kid responds, “Then we have no chance.” But the teacher believes the students can grab control and make something of the world; they can flip what they don’t like over and literally turn the world upside down. That’s when he...Read more …
The Call of Christmas

The Call of Christmas

  • Posted on December 25, 2015
  • /Under Holiday
“Everything in our society teaches us to move away from people who don’t look like us. But the Gospel calls us to something altogether different. We are to laugh at fear, to lean into suffering, to open ourselves to the stranger. [On Christmas] we remember how JESUS put on flesh and moved into the neighborhood. God getting born in a barn reminds us that God shows up in the most forsaken corners of the earth…JESUS came from Nazareth, a town from which folks said nothing good could come. He knew suffering from the moment he entered the world as a...Read more …
Help someone experience it, too.

Help someone experience it, too.

  • Posted on December 23, 2015
  • /Under Holiday
I remember going to a Christmas concert on a frigid winter night. I made sure to drop my wife, Pam, off at the door. If I didn’t, she’d freeze before even making it inside. Me? I’m not so bothered by the cold. I’d find the place to park. Once inside, I joined her and we both hunkered down in the upholstered auditorium seats, our coats tucked behind us. Candles glowed in the windows up the aisles and we felt warm despite the bitter temperatures outside. The music was beautiful. The choirs sang traditional carols and the orchestra played classical melodies and...Read more …
Will you let Him?

Will you let Him?

  • Posted on December 21, 2015
  • /Under General
Wherever I go, the biggest concern for living incarnationally is about time: “Hugh, I get this, and I know I should be more intentional about all of this, but I’m just so swamped I can’t imagine having consistent time or energy for people.” My response is always the same: “Anyone has time to be a part-time missionary.” A missionary is just a “sent on.” And the story of God sending people to bring hope to the world didn’t begin or end with Jesus. When Noah and His family needed hope for a new life, God sent an olive branch. When...Read more …
On the Radio – Walk the Way

On the Radio – Walk the Way

  • Posted on December 18, 2015
  • /Under Holiday
This is Walk the Way, brought to you by Q Place, I’m Jeff Klein. I love what Q Place friend, Hugh Halter, says in his book, Flesh: Jesus had a front band. You know the drill – you to to a concert to see, say, U-2, but there’s always a band or two first to get you ready for the big act. Hands down, Jesus was the big act, but God knew He couldn’t just show up. He’d need some openers. Buzz and buildup were needed. Can you imagine what it was like waiting thousands of years for the Messiah? People...Read more …
Dennis

Dennis

Dennis from Southminster Presbyterian Church in Arlington Heights, IL, attended a Q Place VITAL event and heard something he hadn’t heard before: that if people don’t feel judged, they are actually interested in talking about spiritual things. This was exciting for him; and Dennis decided to do something. Equipped with this new piece of information, he invited each person from his engineering firm to go out to lunch with him, one-on-one. Then, while eating lunch together, he asked for their opinion: “I was at a conference where I heard that if people feel safe and not judged, they are willing—...Read more …
Face-to-Face

Face-to-Face

One glance at your own Twitter or Facebook feed and you’ll note the increasing frequency of complex personal, political, and religious conversations. There’s a lot happening in our world today—yes, so much to talk about. But is “online” the best place for this dialogue? In an interview with Barna research, Q Place President Mary Schaller addresses this growing practice: Barna Group: Over the years, Barna research has charted the rising occurrence of spiritual conversations happening online, especially among the Mosaic generation (young adults). What do you see as the advantages and disadvantages of spiritual dialogue in the digital realm? Schaller:...Read more …
On the Radio – Walk the Way

On the Radio – Walk the Way

  • Posted on December 11, 2015
  • /Under Sharing
This is Walk the Way, brought to you by Q Place. I’m Jeff Klein. And I’m Pam Klein. The story reportedly goes like this: After an interview with someone, Abraham Lincoln said to his secretary, “I don’t like that man’s face.” She reacted, amazed, “But that’s what his face is; he’s not responsible for his face.” Lincoln replied tartly, “After forty, every man is responsible for his face.” Ha! That’s great. It’s been said that the face mirrors our moods. And it seems that dear ol’ Abe was implying that after four decades of life, anyone should be able to,...Read more …
Nothing to Share? Abide.

Nothing to Share? Abide.

  • Posted on December 9, 2015
  • /Under Sharing
When it comes to sharing your faith, do you ever feel like you don’t have anything to share? Nothing to give? Nothing to say? Tapped out? Empty? This is certainly true for me (maybe more than I’d like to admit), but recently, I think I’ve gained a bit of insight into why. Just the other day I went on my first—ever—silent retreat. It’s true. Despite the decades behind me, I’d never been to one. So why this time? Why all of a sudden? Desperation. I admit it. I was quite frankly at the end of my rope. Busy. Too busy:...Read more …
Older Posts →