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Saddleback, the conference begins


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Believe it or not, these conferences are not all about facilities and numbers. There is actually a lot of solid teaching and instruction that goes on here.

So, let me just drop a few pearls of wisdom for you. I’ll try to include some things that are cool enough to translate across several fields of interest and not just pastoring. These are ideas/quotes from any number of the presenters that spoke during today’s sessions: Continue reading “Saddleback, the conference begins”

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Suffering for the Lord

 

 

This week I’ll be perpetuating a problem.

Several of the staff from our church have come up with a nickname for myself and our executive Pastor Rod Sims.  Apparently, we work together a lot which, makes sense since his position was created out of mine as the church grew.

Anyway, they affectionately (and it better be affectionately) refer to us as RANDY whenever they see us together.  Honestly, it makes me kind of uncomfortable and I am trying to express a little less PDA in public…  that was a joke.

Well, the RANDY jokes should be flying back in the office this week as Rod and I headed for a weeklong trip to the sunny state of California for a conference of Saddleback Community Church. Continue reading “Suffering for the Lord”

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Is this God’s will or Indigestion?

Here’s an easy one for you. A friend of mine recently asked me about a major life decision for her family. The problem is that there really are no easy decisions, period.

By the way, if you end a sentence with the word ‘period’ follow by the punctuation mark also named as such, is that officially redundant?

OK, there may be a few easy decisions out there, but they are never about major things.
Where are we going to eat tonight?
Does this dress make me look fat?
What’s on TV?
These are all questions that we either already have the answers to, or really don’t need the answers to.

But, the major decisions of life; the big ones that come along about jobs, love, life, kids, money and all that other high stress stuff, those decisions are never big fat slow softball pitches over the middle.

Those decisions are always tough ones. Why couldn’t the choices be more like these:

  • I could stay at this job that I hate, or move to my dream position for three times the cash and the beach house…hmmm
  • I could stay single and searching, or I could marry this drop dead gorgeous supermodel with the morals of Mother Theresa who keeps throwing herself at me… hmmm
  • I could continue to wander spiritually wondering what to do with my life, or I could open up this glowing letter with the return address marked Heaven that has been floating in my living room for the last month… hmmm Continue reading “Is this God’s will or Indigestion?”