Why I Should Have Been Fired. . . .
The other night I was telling my family that I wish I had a good nickname. The conversation was prompted after my girls had convinced me to watch the Justin Bieber movie – “Never Say Never” – (Ok. . .…
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Come On. . . Is It Really Worth It? . . . .
In about two hours I’ll be sitting in a college office with my 18-year-old son. It’ll be a give and take with an administrator on class placement, course selection, and major possibilities. At this point, he hasn’t centered in on…
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The Church of Oprah. . . .
Ok. . . so the world didn’t end on Saturday after all. But for millions of Oprah fans, it’s going to end in three days. On several occasions over the past several years I’ve found myself starting a conversation with…
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Teens and Sex. . . .
Yesterday I drove down to Manayunk (part of Philly, along the river) to visit the offices of Harvest USA and to sit in on a test run of a new youth worker seminar they’re putting together. Manayunk. . . it’s…
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The Power Of Music. . . .
Weird. Lisa got a magazine in the mail yesterday and she didn’t ask for it. Her name and address was right there in that little white box on the bottom-left-hand side of the cover. It was all so normal yet…
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Pain, Suffering, And The Song In My Head. . . .
Cornelius Plantinga’s book on sin has a title that reflects reality: Not The Way It’s Supposed To Be. No, it’s not. And we know it. Some of us more than others. This morning, I’ve been thinking about people I know…
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Should James Tate Be Allowed To Go To His Prom? . . .
Have you caught the story about Shelton, CT high school senior James Tate? He’s the kid who posted some foot-tall cardboard letters on the wall near the school’s entrance. The letters spelled out a prom invitation to a fellow student:…
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Consumer-Driven Church. . . We Need A Fixing. . .
In the past, I’ve been accused of being critical of the seeker-sensitive, seeker-driven, and seeker-centered approaches to what some people call “doing church.” That’s accurate. I have been. My motivation – I hope – has not been driven by anything…
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What Do You Think About Lady Gaga’s “Judas” Video? . . . .
Just because we don’t get it doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t work to try to figure it out. Abstract art has always been a little bit difficult for me. It’s especially frustrating when people see things that I can’t even…
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Reforming Rap. . . .
Last night we switched over to “American Idol” for a couple of minutes between innings. As the camera focused on Idol judge Steven Tyler, I made an effort to appear young to my kids by mentioning that Tyler and Aerosmith…
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Whatever Happened To Rubbers??? . . .
My one-minute commute to the office was doubled today due to a traffic issue in the neighborhood. I had to stop and wait for the school bus to load. Rainy weather meant that my stopping point was several cars behind…
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Out Of My House! . . . Now! . . .
My post-high school life plan was pretty simple and straightforward. It followed the post-high school script of the mid-70s: 1) Go to college. Why? Because that’s what’s expected and everyone else is doing it. 2) Graduate from college. . .…
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