Last night we introduced our 15-year-old daughter Lucy to Best In Show, the third of four films created by an improvisational acting company led by Christopher Guest. The first of the four, This Is Spinal Tap, is a wildly popular mock-documentary about an “iconic” hard-rock band that reunites for a one-time blowout performance.…
Let the students lead… Claire is a sophomore in my ministry. Last year, she and her mom bought tickets to the Jason Aldean concert in Las Vegas—yes, it was that concert. A gunman in a hotel room above the concert venue opened fire, killing 59 people.…
I’m just imagining the first followers of Jesus taking a “discipleship assessment” just after his death and resurrection. Would a single one of them make the grade as a “fully formed disciple” by today’s youth ministry standards? If the model Jesus himself used produced the kind of results that would get most of us a poor performance review, maybe there’s a problem with the way we think about discipleship.…
If you’ve ever taken a personality test and then followed it up with a lively conversation about how you compare with others, then you know how affirming it is for people to get you, and to get them in return. Naturally we want this same experience with Jesus, but just when we think we’ve got him figured out, he seems to contradict himself.…
What do you stand for? It’s a question that cuts to your identity, and displays the true story of your heart. The answer often becomes clearer as you develop spiritual grit. Join Rick and his very special guest host as they continue a month-long sampling of the newly released book, ‘Spiritual Grit’.…
Imagine that you’re stuck. You’ve hit a rut or a roadblock and you’re not sure how to move forward. Could the answer you’re looking for come by asking a simple two-word question? Join Rick and guest host Stephanie Hillberry as they conclude a 4-week series on growing spiritual grit by discussing the freedom that can be found in asking “Why Not?”…
After 40 years, we’re finally learning Han Solo’s backstory—and it’s a big deal, because our backstories help others know us more deeply. And that’s exactly why it’s important to learn as much as we can about Jesus’ backstory… We got a lot of backstory about Luke and Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy. …
We all have ugly inside whether we want to admit it or not. Anger, greed, lust, jealousy, and a host of other qualities plague us all. While admitting our ugly to others often initially triggers hurt feelings, acknowledging our ugly to Jesus leads to a very different response.…
Hell. It’s the theme of TV shows, books, and Halloween costumes, but it’s rarely brought up in church, let alone in everyday conversations. Surprisingly, it was a subject Jesus focused on a lot. Join Rick and special guest Tom Melton (a longtime pastor and now leadership consultant) as they continue a month-long series examining tough aspects of Jesus by zooming in on what he says about Hell, particularly the parable of the rich man and Lazarus found in Luke 16.…
Profanity. It has the ability to shock, disrespect, and hurt people. Your mom would wash out your mouth for using it, and the Bible gives warnings about speaking it. So why did Jesus use it? Join Rick and special guest Stephanie Hillberry as they continue a month-long series looking at tough aspects of Jesus by examining what’s behind Jesus’ use of seemingly profane words.…
