January 2019 marks a significant anniversary for me—15 straights years of pastoring. 15! I had been doing pastoral-y things for a chunk of years before but one of my most significant life shifts came when I went on a big church staff January 1st2004 first as the Associate Care Pastor and Adult Ministry Pastor. Two+ years later […]
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Every summer at The Refuge we do a modified Sunday night format called “Summer Camp.” The idea is to focus on practical skills, community building, and a break from our regular Dinner Church format. Over the years we’ve done all kinds of different things ranging from the basic skills of friendship to becoming people of […]
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It’s been 3 months since I’ve blogged here, and I’m glad to get back in the groove this month (I miss rambling about things I like to ramble about–church, life, community, healing, faith shifts, justice, and equality!) I am not sure what things will look like exactly in this next season, blogging here for any […]
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I turned 50 on Mother’s Day. 5-0. Half a century. 5 decades. For all you young people reading, you’re like 50 is o-l-d. For all you 50’s and up reading, you’re like “quit complaining.” I’m not complaining, really. It’s just a weird feeling and the 40’s did feel younger! Jose and my friends threw me […]
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If you know me in real life, you know my favorite word is Hope. Refuge friends tease me about it all of the time, and for good reason. I love the word and have written it on my share of rocks over the years. I know hope is dangerous. It’s vulnerable. It’s scary. But it […]
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I’m back! It took me a while! September 1st came and went but I am happy to be back in this space again for this next season. It is always good for me to not think in blog for a few months and as much as it’s hard for me to stop, I have come […]
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Oh, it’s been a brutal week around here and I am just starting to come up for air. Many of you reading already connect on Facebook but I wanted to make sure and share this here, too. In the middle of celebrating The Refuge’s 10 Year Anniversary and many other amazing things that have been happening […]
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Before this week ended, I wanted to celebrate an important milestone that some of you heard about on Facebook and in real life while others may have no idea about–The Refuge, the mission center and Christian community I co-pastor, turned 10 last week! We’re a whole decade old! In church planting years, it’s a little […]
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I originally wrote the post below in 2006 when I didn’t have a blog but The Refuge did. It was almost exactly 10 years ago. It’s a little freaky, the reality that a decade has flown by and in a few weeks The Refuge is celebrating our 10 year anniversary. It’s also a little freaky that 10 […]
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I love trying new things. I love unedited conversations. I love what can happen when you don’t have a script and don’t try to craft something in a certain direction but just let things emerge. That’s what Faith Circus is all about. It’s a new weekly podcast I am doing with my dear friend and co-pastor […]
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