It Takes A Church...

A Summer Sunday in San Clemente

With thanks to Mike Fluchere for the picture. And to Kim Campbell for a great reflection on this "weird, perfect" storm that occurred in the middle of one of our worship services last Sunday.

Psalm 8

Happy Birthday Dad

I Care. And so I run.

12.5 mile training run today. The Chicago Marathon is six weeks away.   Thanks to all of you who are supporting our team. 

Moon or Star?

I have been asked to contribute articles to "The High Calling of Our Daily Work" website and here is the most recent.  This is one of those ministries that can really make a difference in the lives of Christians who somehow know that they are as called to their "ordinary life" as we pastors are called to "THE" ministry. 

I am glad to partner with them and encourage any of you to become more connected to this ministry.

Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment… 1 Ti 6:6

The teenagers at my church like to play a game they call “Would you rather?”  Some of them are gross (Would you rather sweat cheese or have a permanent brain freeze headache?), some of them are silly (Would you rather be Paris Hilton’s dog or Donald Trump’s wife?) and some of them are more thought provoking.  Like this one that I want to offer you.

Would you rather be a star or a moon?  The initial response seems easy: Star.  (Maybe even BIG Star.) Why be a lifeless floating rock that orbits around something bigger when you can blaze in glory, give off light and be the center of your own universe?  But think again.  Many of us spending our whole lives trying to be “stars”.  (And I don’t mean just in the entertainment field).  We want to be the center of attention, the most important, and the one that everyone else has to revolve around.  That is until we realize that we weren’t really made to be stars. 

Click here to read the rest of this essay at

Visit TheHighCalling.org for more articles by Tod Bolsinger

Blessed Confession

On the heels of launching a series of posts about the way that a consumer-mindset hinders our missional convictions (and the way that that mindset is challenged by some wonderful people of witness--like Zach Hunter), I came across this most interesting--and possibly, to some disturbing--piece.

Time Magazine is running an article based on some recently released letters where Mother Teresa reveals that she had a 50-year "dark night" of the soul.  It is fascinating reading that makes some nervous.  As for me, I deeply appreciate it the beauty of a life lived in obedience to Christ's commands, even in the face of an experiential crisis. 

While it seems incongruous to so many of us who believe that Christian faith guarantees a "spiritual intimacy" with God, Mother Teresa's candor reveals a most challenging re-thinking of what faith is, offers and accomplishes, especially in our consumer-focused world. 

The excerpts from her letters are brutally blunt in their longing and agony.  They are almost assaulting to those of us who have grown accustomed to nothing but "victorious" Christian voices.  But they ring of an honesty and earthy realism that is found no less than in the Scriptures themselves.  She joins a chorus of others like C.S. Lewis, St. John of the Cross, Sister Teresa of Avila and even the Lord himself whose life and faith include the absence of God.

Mother Teresa reveals an often ignored reality of the Christian life: There are no guarantees of "spiritual experiences", only the trust that clings to Christ's promises, God's character and the hope of mercies that are new every morning amidst a long dark night.

A 15-year old who is "Being the Change"

Zach Hunter is a 15-year-old abolitionist.  At our High School and Junior High Summer camp, we featured his life and his book as a model for a new generation of revolutionaries. Those of us in the 25-45 year old set are inspired and heartened by this guy. 

I even used his story in a sermon I gave last weekend on James 5: 1-6. 

Please watch the video about him and let me know what you think.

And then I'll tell you some about how our teenagers responded to the challenge of his life and the challenge that their response means for church leaders like me.

In honor of my favorite pre-run meal...

Eaten this morning at 6 AM before the 16 miler as my team and I keep training for the Chicago Marathon for Malawi.

Diversity...Bad news, surprising news. Good News?

Bill Rice, an elder in my church sent me this article from the Wall Street Journal online that detailed a study by Harvard's Robert Putnam (of Bowling Alone fame) on the effects of diversity on community.  The result?  Arggh!  After interviewing 30,000 people in over 40 communities around the country they concluded that diversity leads to the decline of community.  The more diverse, the less community.  Not exactly what a lot of us who want both community and diversity were hoping for. Here is an interview with the Wall Street Journal article editor.

And if you listen all the way to the end of the interview, you'll find a most unexpected surprise.

  Do you know the one place where diversity seems to thrive within community?  You'll never guess.  And I'll bet that a lot of Harvard folks are shaking their heads about it.

Team World Vision...and you.

"15 million children have been left orphaned by HIV/AIDS.  It's not just an 'issue', it's a pandemic."

You can read more about our team and our Marathon for Malawi project by clicking here.