There was once a time when the best of conversations began with, "I think..." Though not always the case, the implied assumption was that the speaker had taken a moment to consider the facts at hand, weighed differing viewpoints concerning those facts, then reached his/her own conclusion based upon that informal research. This was the …
Author: tommybrown
How To Be Perfect, Part 2
Considering the verse in 1 Peter we looked at last time (click here to read Part 1), there's an important distinction we first need to make as we continue our discussion. Notice God's call is to "be holy", not to "be perfect". What's the difference? Plenty. First, the word "perfect". When we use it we …
How To Be Perfect, Part 1
I think one of the biggest turn-offs to the Christian faith (or any faith for that matter) is the notion of perfection, or at least the pursuit of it. If religion isn't your thing, it's probably because you sense this undercurrent, an unspoken rule of always trying to be better than you are now no …
Preface, Part 2
Back in the Fall of 2018, Kevin Huggins of Fellowship Church spoke in our worship service about the importance of storytelling in the life of the believer. As one who enjoys writing, this of course piqued my interest, but really I had never stopped to consider how important storytelling is to our testimony as Christ-followers. …
Preface
I recently posted a photo of a mug that Laura bought me for Christmas that reads "Dad, established 2019". I put no caption on the post, but just let it speak for itself. A friend later asked me in person, "Hey I didn't know you all were expecting. When are you due?" When I told …
The Greatest
You probably know those people who have an innate ability to turn a conversation back upon themselves, even if it has little or nothing to do with them. Say you are casually talking about a movie you saw, and by the end of the conversation the topic has somehow swung to the other person boycotting …
Lost and Found (Luke 15)
My mom tells the story of a time when I was lost as a child. Correction, I wasn't lost, I knew exactly where I was. Back in the 80s you could go for a walk with other neighbor moms with nothing to fear, and this was one of those cases. I probably told this sweet …
Going Deeper: Bad Things, Good People, and Hard Questions
I lost count of the number of natural and man-made disasters that tormented our country in 2018. As of this writing, the latest was a magnitude 7.0 earthquake with an epicenter just north of Anchorage, Alaska. Significant structural and infrastructural damage ensued, but thankfully no lives were lost, this time. The same cannot be said …
Continue reading Going Deeper: Bad Things, Good People, and Hard Questions
The Point of Prayer, Part 2
Admittedly, prayer many times doesn't feel like an accomplishment, like you're actually doing anything. But we also must admit that our actions, in the long term, ultimately don't accomplish what we're after either. Both can feel futile, like you're investing too much energy into something that doesn't show real results. Perhaps then we need to …
The Point of Prayer, Part 1
We have a curious relationship with prayer. Historically we have acknowledged God in some fashion and thus our need to communicate with him. I'm sure the hallowed saints of the past were quite serious about the effectiveness of prayer, but what about us common folk? Do we really take it that seriously? In recent years, …
Each Step a Story 