Introducing the 9 Arts of Spiritual Conversations

This is Walk the Way, brought to you by Q Place, I’m Jeff Klein. In ancient Israel, the entrances to the walled-in cities of the day, the city gates, served as more than mere entryways—they were literal places of people connection, interaction and exchange. The city gate was a real place where outsiders met insiders. At the city gate, those who lived in outlying areas had access to what the city offered. What a great image for the church. And I think maybe this is what we imagined when we created our modern day church buildings. But too many times...Read more …

This is Walk the Way, brought to you by Q Place, I’m Jeff Klein. Pam and I have one of pastor Eugene Peterson’s daily devotionals. The title of this particular collection really strikes me: Living the Message. THAT is exactly what we’re supposed to do! Live the Message! Peterson asserts that the Bible is first and foremost a text to be lived, not just studied and understood. A rabbi put it this way: “the Bible gets into hearts primarily through feet, not heads.” God’s word says: We walk in the ways of the Lord. We run in the ways of his...Read more …

Editor’s Note:  Regular On Q contributor Jenn Nahrstadt discovered Alan Briggs while surfing the internet. She forwarded the link to what she read because his words align so closely with the vision of Q Place. We asked Alan if we could share his words. He graciously agreed. Welcome, Alan, to On Q. It was a beautiful spring afternoon, and I was taking the short walk to pick up my kids from school. Parents who walk the same route every day to scoop up their kids walked hurriedly by me with their heads down. No “Hello,” not even the customary head...Read more …

There’s a great youtube video floating around about Daisy, a yellow Lab puppy, learning to go down stairs. Her owner videoed what became an adorable moment between Daisy and Simon, the adult yellow Lab in the family home. Daisy has made one attempt at the stairs and is whining and pacing at the top. Simon hears, enters Daisy’s world and quickly navigates the stairs, showing Daisy how easy it is. She doesn’t buy it. So, Simon goes and stands by Daisy. Together they look over the precipice and Daisy puts both front paws on the first step. Simon does the same, pausing...Read more …

This is Walk the Way, brought to you by Q Place, I’m Jeff Klein. And I’m Pam Klein. After placing his order at the Dunkin-Donuts drive-thru the girl on the intercom asked my friend, Bill, “Is there anything else I can do for you?” Bill laughed that he’d like a condo in Tahiti and a million bucks. At the pick-up window, the girl handed him a much larger coffee than the one he’d asked for: “Sir! I couldn’t help you with your other request, but I could upgrade your coffee!” Bill’s eyes welled up with tears when he shared that...Read more …

I have been working out at the YMCA for the past several years in an effort to get in better shape and be more healthy. It turns out that swimming laps in the pool has been tremendously helpful not only for my physical health. It has helped me stretch my spiritual muscles too. Let me elaborate. In praying about practicing The 9 Arts of Spiritual Conversations, God graciously pointed out to me that I could practice them while doing my laps! Yes! If we have a desire to be intentional, God will grant us the opportunities—anywhere, at anytime! One day while dutifully...Read more …

Most Christians and non-Christians can agree on one thing: they don’t like the “E” word: “evangelism.” Although the word evangelism comes from the Greek word euangelion, which means “good news,” the term has been “hijacked” by an approach that has not always delivered good news to its intended recipients; the word now elicits negative emotions. It seems to me that the church at large has compartmentalized evangelism and discipleship into two main buckets: everything that is before someone has a conversion experience with Jesus we call “evangelism” and everything after that conversion experience is called “discipleship.” I believe author Alan...Read more …