Ypsilanti Church | Road Trippin

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It is no secret that I love baseball. It is my son’s chosen sport. He loves to play and I have grown to love it as well. As with most anything I do, I haven’t gone half way on my engagement with baseball. I love the history and I enjoy learning how to help my boy become better and better. Over the years I have seen a large number of baseball games from youth levels up to the professional. I have come to appreciate defense and pitching much more than the offensive aspect of the game. Baseball Tonight’s “Web Gems” is one of my favoriteRead More →

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Over the last few years I have come to really enjoy smart, well written, dramatic television. I love the fact that the story is not capped in 120 minutes. It is able to be developed, often very intricately. Right now we are enjoying shows like Once Upon A Time, PanAM, The Firm, and Touch. Touch is a fascinating storyline. This show is attempting to work out the theological idea of providence. Providence can be defined as, “divine guidance or care, God conceived as the power sustaining and guiding human destiny”. But, what if there was no God? Touch seems to start there. The “universe” isRead More →

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Our family watches American Idol. For some folks this is an abomination. Bear with me. Keep reading. One of the singers this year is a girl named Angie Miller, as far as I can tell she is a follower of Jesus. Over the last few weeks she had been taking a lot of heat from the judges. In particular during “rock week” she performed in a “sexy” way and was called out by Nicki Minaj (the irony is thick with that I know). This past week (April 10, 2013) she “got back to her roots”. She sang at a piano. She a spiritual song. ItRead More →

Flat White

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Over the last few months I have committed to spending time at a particular coffee shop. As often as I can have appointments there, I do. If I need a place to study I head there. If I ever write a book, my guess is it will be written there. To be honest though, I really miss my office. I really enjoy going to an office where I have bookshelves (oh blessed bookshelves!) and a door and my chair. It also has a door that can be closed. In my office were great people who loved Jesus and I could go out there and just beRead More →

Ypsilanti Church Hope

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Thursdays I spend time with many of the significant leaders of The Antioch Movement. I was driving home this past Thursday and rejoicing over the reality that I don’t feel alone. Yet, in that joy I remembered something I had written a couple of years ago and realized how much God has changed me. I am so grateful that he has brought me to a place where I am not hiding anymore. I am embracing openness and it is amazing. Here’s the post… Loneliness, according to Dan Allender in Leading With a Limp, is one of the things that any leader will bump into. He canRead More →

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This past weekend the Disney Channel showed all three of the Toy Story films. The most poignant moment in each movie for me is when the key character looks at his foot and sees Andy’s name scrawled there. It is the reminder that he needs of who he is and who he belongs to. A person’s identity is critical to his self understanding. It defines what he does and how he does it. It shapes everything about him. Who we understand ourselves to be is the answer to our fundamental question of why are we here. So who are you? Whose name is on the bottomRead More →

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Jackie Robinson has become a family hero of ours. We were able to get to know his daughter, Sharon, a bit when our son won an essay contest in Jackie’s honor. The highlight for me was watching Sharon talk with the children of Ethan’s school answering all kinds of questions. She did so with grace and understanding. I was amazed by the stories. Leading up to Sharon coming we watched the Ken Burns episode on Baseball regarding the breaking of the color barrier. The stories are heartbreaking, encouraging, and you’re left jaw slacked. Today 42 opens. It tells Jackie’s story of courage, courage not to fightRead More →

Ypsilanti Church Pinnacle

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I really enjoy sports. I like to play them and watch them. Recently the University of Michigan played for the college basketball national championship. They lost. I remember the last time they played for the national championship. They lost. My reaction to these two games are totally different. For many years when my teams would lose I would be angry. I mean, slap your momma angry. I would be in a funk for days. My emotions were completely caught up in the moment and the team and experience. Sports would arouse my affections. They captured my heart. A few years ago I began wrestling withRead More →

Flat White

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I remember the day. It was a spring day and the sun was shining. I walked to the end of my driveway and opened the mailbox. In it was a yellow envelope that contained a book I didn’t order. The book you ask? Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller. I sat outside a small coffee shop near Illinois State University and read the book in about six hours. Over the next few days I read it again and again. Inside that book I discovered grace in a way I never had before. Blue Like Jazz, was for me, Martin Luther’s commentary on Galatians or Packer’sRead More →

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Recently I started working out again. It is something that is not always what I would consider fun. Our gym gives you two free sessions with a trainer and it gives you a taste of what it would be like to have one regularly. Trainers don’t care about your comfort. They care about helping you achieve your goals. They intentionally make you uncomfortable. Each time you meet with them you are put into different situations and your body is pushed in a different direction. They are able to help you do things that you aren’t willing to do on your own. In our journeys ofRead More →