Author: Chris

My belief is that God has created each of us for a holy destiny. Through biblical teaching and writing I hope to lead souls to find God, learn to apply His Word to their lives, and find opportunities to join in the work of His Body, the Church.
Christian Living, Ministry

Are You Developmentally Challenged?

Chris

Okay, okay. I’m not trying to belittle any true challenges or struggles people face today. Please, don’t send any hate mail.

The question posed here has to do with your continual growth, both personally and professionally. Are you growing? How are you facilitating that growth? Do you even believe that you need to grow?

You’ve probably heard this adage: “You cannot truly sit still. You are either moving forward or backward.” It’s been applied to our Christian walk, our relationships, and our professional lives. But do we take it seriously? Do we live like this statement is true?

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Book Reviews

Book Review: All In

Chris

Risk is a part of our lives, almost every moment of every day. In the past twelve months, salmonella ran through 42 states because of what some thought was tomatoes, though many would confess they don’t have a clue where it came from. And now it’s been linked to peanut butter. From driving in your car, to opening a milk carton, risk is everywhere. Whether we realize it or not, we’re risk takers. For some of us, the risks are more obvious. For example, this past summer my mother went parachuting. (I’m not ready for that one yet.) The real question is, are we taking the risks that matter? That’s point of Michael DiMarco’s book, “All In: Gambling on Life, Love & Faith in a World of Risk ”

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Bible

Give Me A Reason

Chris

My wife and I often find ourselves in different rooms in the house during the day. She’s kind of a neat freak and baker, and I’m more of a computer-book nerd. When we get in our individual modes, she’s usually off in the kitchen and I’m in my home office. My office doesn’t have a traditional door, just a couple of curtains hung in the open thruway. So when she has the radio on up in the kitchen, I get bits and pieces of what she’s listening to while I’m trying to do my own thing.

She was recently listening to a radio program, and the speaker mentioned how when he had honest questions about God and Christianity, those around him who were Christians failed to fulfill a task we should all be ready for.

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Ministry

Worship at Christmastime

Chris

We have crossed into December, and the countdown to Christmas is officially underway in our house. Our tree was standing for over a week without ornaments until last night. It’s a prelit tree, but it looked a little odd with the middle section blacked out for several nights in a row. That’s one of the issues you run into when you have a lot of ornaments that plug in. Last night we finally added the ornaments.

My wife has found time to add little things all around the house. She bought some new LED candlelights online for each of the windows. Some faux brick cardboard lines the walls of a sitting room, trimmed neatly with puffy white “snow” and all of our stockings. And we hung some paper snowflakes from the kitchen ceiling.

This Sunday, though, I get to do something I rarely have the opportunity to anymore: lead worship. It probably seems silly that a guy who wrote a book on worship suddenly finds himself out of the role. But part of the role I do fill now, as assistant pastor, requires filling in where other needs are, since we have a number of worship leaders in the church.

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Uncategorized

Why Obama Might Be President

Chris

[No, I’m not taking sides publically one way or the other.  I have voted already (with absentee ballot), but I’m not giving that away, either.  In this post, I will speak as part of a collective, though my opinions or experience may not be the same as the generalizations made.]

Many evangelical Christians support John McCain, and would be devastated if Barack Obama were to win the White House next week.  It doesn’t sound as if there is a great exodus planned in that event, as many hardcore Democrats threaten every election to “run for the border” of Canada should a Republican take office.  Still, the disappointment of “losing” the top office in the country to such a staunch liberal would eventually manifest itself in our pulpits, our magazines, books, and coffee house conversations.  All of this leads me to the number one reason I believe Barack Obama might win on November 4th.

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