Glorious Mud

We live in a hurried and distracted world.  We are overstimulated and bored.  We are driven to do more, achieve more, schedule more, and yet feel more disconnected, more left out, and more guilty about what we can't be part of.  As a culture, we know how to work hard, play hard, and escape even harder.  But we don't know how to rest. As a result, most of us are running dangerously close to complete melt down.  We are frayed and coming undone.  I think Weezer said it best (well, maybe not the best... but it will work) in their song Undone (better known as the sweater song).  It's a silly little song - but look at the lyrics. If you want to destroy my sweater Hold this thread as I walk away Watch me unravel, I'll soon be naked Lying on the floor, lying on the floor, I've come undone. How many of us are so frayed that if that one thread were pulled - we would be naked on the floor curled up in the fetal position.  So we spend our time tryi...

Worth a few minutes of your day.  Enjoy.

This last week, Trailhead Church in Edwardville had our first Fight Club big group meeting.  We talked about why it is vital that we fight with each other for the right things.  So, I am going to post the notes from that meeting here in case you were not able to join us.  Read this and fight with us.  (Special thanks to Darrin Patrick for writing his great book Church Planter and to John Bryson for posting his fight club material online!) The Crisis of Manhood Welcome – and good morning Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. (1 Corinthians 16:13) Trailhead’s vision is to create a culture that encourages manhood, not to start another men’s program.  We don't need  – one more thing to do. We need a men’s culture – where men are expected to be men – where we have high standards for ourselves and for each other. This is going to be a huge challenge because we are facing a crisis of manhood in our culture. ...

I know I haven't posted in a while... but I have been a little busy starting a church.  I have one word to describe the last month and a half of labor: Joy.  Seriously.  I can't tell you how thick and rich and deep the experience of God's grace has been in it.  I will post more about that soon. But for now - Lauren posted some thoughts on her blog about being a pastor's wife that I want to share with you.  You can find it here:  Ground of my Own . If you know me - you know that I am not your typical pastor (if there is such a thing, I guess).  I have just kind of tripped through life and God has always directed my stumbling steps to take me where he wants me.  Five years ago, I would have laughed at you if you had said I was going to be a pastor.  Well, Lauren never imagined that she would end up as a pastor's wife.  The experience has been just as rich and encouraging for her as it has been for me - but she comes from a background...