Leaning in: Haiti

Leaning in: Haiti

When Ann Voskamp shared her conversation with her husband about her indecision about how to respond to the enormous humanitarian crisis in Haiti, I leaned in and listened closely. With her question—“How do you know how to best invest your life? How do you know what’s wisest, and where’s wisest, and who’s neediest, and is any of this even the point?”—she took the words I’ve been wrestling with for weeks now right out of my mouth. There they were, on the proverbial table, for deliberation. I was so relieved to know someone else was struggling too. Like Ann, I feel...Read more …
On the radio this week–Walk the Way

On the radio this week–Walk the Way

  • Posted on October 19, 2016
  • /Under Praying
This is Walk the Way. Brought to you by Q Place. I’m Jeff Klein. And I’m Pam Klein. RA Torrey, a turn-of-the-century pastor and evangelist wrote the following: “The most important human factor in effective evangelism is PRAYER, Every great awakening in the history of the Church from the time of the Apostles until today has been the result of prayer. There have been great awakenings without much preaching, and there have been great awakenings with absolutely no organization, but there has never been a true awakening without much prayer.” Torrey goes on to point out the Awakenings in history...Read more …
I see you.

I see you.

  • Posted on October 17, 2016
  • /Under Noticing
I recently watched the movie Avatar again with my family. You remember the story of Jake Sully—he’s a disabled ex-marine assigned to duty on beautiful Pandora, a planet full of exotic nature-loving natives called Avatars. Jake’s assignment is unusual; although he is paralyzed and no longer able to use his lower extremities, he will become one of the Avatars with the aid of scientific technology and “take over” the able-bodied body of an Avatar native. This way, he can better build relationships, win the creatures over, and complete his mission. Along the way, he meets Neytiri, who’s assigned to Jake by the tribal...Read more …
Recommended for your bookshelf or Kindle!

Recommended for your bookshelf or Kindle!

  • Posted on October 14, 2016
  • /Under Noticing
“Noticing is a prerequisite to caring about others and serving them in tangible ways that smuggle the Gospel into their hearts.” ~ Doug Pollock “If we want to live in grace, we must develop eyes that see. We must learn what might be called the discipline of noticing. To notice something–to truly pay attention–is a powerful thing….The practice of noticing is a skill. It involves learning to pay attention to gifts we have otherwise taken for granted….They are precious gifts. And what’s even more amazing is that their Giver is lovingly present with you even as you are experiencing them.”...Read more …
On the radio this week–Walk the Way

On the radio this week–Walk the Way

  • Posted on October 12, 2016
  • /Under Noticing
This is Walk the Way. Brought to you by Q Place. I’m Jeff Klein. Have you ever wondered why you live where you live? Did you ever wonder if there was a bigger reason that you live where you do, next to the people do? Did you ever think that God might have a larger purpose for putting you there? I have a friend in the inner city of Chicago who says “God–He don’t make no mistakes.” Acts 17 pretty much tells us the same thing when it comes to where each one of us live. What does knowing and believing...Read more …
Aha! Where can you end up if you follow a trail of curiosity?

Aha! Where can you end up if you follow a trail of curiosity?

  • Posted on October 10, 2016
  • /Under Noticing
For a bit of time in 2015, Robert Krulwich and Aatish Bhatia authored a blog called “Noticing,” saying that it was for folks who “like to look around. Who can’t not. Who find it hard to get anywhere on time because there’s always something—an oddly behaving raindrop (is it going up? How can it go up?)—that we can’t not notice, not puzzle over.” They called themselves badly over-puzzled. Hmmmm…Woah! Huh? Aha! Their notion was that observation and curiosities—those little things that “catch the eye”—can put us in a state of  They invited every reader to join them on a journey “to...Read more …
Too busy?

Too busy?

  • Posted on October 7, 2016
  • /Under General
It’s true. Being productive often means being busy. And for most intentional people, the word “busy” is probably a correct description of their lives. But unfortunately, for too many of us, the typical answer to the typical “How are you?” question has been replaced with “Too busy,” “Buried,” or “Swamped.” Pastor Kevin DeYoung of University Reformed Church in East Lansing, MI, calls it “Crazy Busy” and wrote a “mercifully short book” (with that phrase in its subtitle) about this “really big problem.” And it is. A really big problem for all of us. How can we equip others (or ourselves) to notice,...Read more …
On the radio this week–Walk the Way

On the radio this week–Walk the Way

This is Walk the Way. Brought to you by Q Place. I’m Jeff Klein. How do you know if your church is “getting the job done?” Determining this is usually equivalent to how many people are sitting in the seats on Sunday morning. Let’s face it, the more people sitting in worship on a Sunday morning, the more successful we feel. But is this a good metric? I’m a Sunday-sitter. But during the rest of the week am I engaged with my neighbors? My co-workers? Am I on the mission of God bringing the Kingdom to where I live, work,...Read more …
Defining “neighbor”

Defining “neighbor”

  • Posted on October 3, 2016
  • /Under Noticing
Most likely most of us are more-than-familiar with the following little exchange that occurred between Jesus and another man. The other guy has been referred to as an expert in religious law, a lawyer, as well as an authority of the law, among other things. Their conversation is recorded in the Gospel of Luke 10:25-28: One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?” The man answered, “‘You must love the...Read more …
Identifying the Biggest Threat to a Successful Group

Identifying the Biggest Threat to a Successful Group

  • Posted on September 30, 2016
  • /Under General
When I first joined Theology Pub, I did it to be edgy. I was launching a new church that I hoped would attract all the skeptical, hipster twenty-somethings. And I hoped Theology Pub might be a doorway into that world. It wasn’t. But, it turned out to be much more interesting than that. Theology Pub is basically a Q Place that meets in a pub, made up of folks with an interest in God-stuff and a membership in a web service called meetup.com. At first, I was just an attender. I showed up for the fireworks. It was thrilling to...Read more …
← Newer Posts
Older Posts →