I read a proverb recently that said, “a forest cannot be cut with a broken axe”. I took it to be about the importance of tending to ourselves. Resting. It is easy to get consumed in the work that must be done, the appointments we need to keep, the deadlines to meet, or the tasks to check off the list. We focus so much on what needs doing that we neglect the one doing it. As my own life gets busier...  Read More

The first meeting of any CoreGroup is a wonderful mix of excitement, nervousness, and potentially awkward pauses. Don’t worry, all of those things are normal.  Read More

Today someone asked me, “Matt, how are you doing?”. It is a routine question, I know. But, I froze. The person stared at me as I stumbled over what to say. We both laughed as I explained that I was feeling a little bit of emotional whiplash. He asked why? And I just shared all that had happened just in the past 24 hours: I was exhilarated from a meeting with leaders in our church, grieving with a ...  Read More

Last year I came upon the work of Priya Parker. She is trained in conflict resolution, works as a facilitator helping groups create meaningful gatherings, and she wrote the book The Art of Gathering. She argues that there are so many good reasons for gathering together that often we don't know exactly why we are gathering. The lack of clearly stated purpose for our gathering leads us to fall back ...  Read More

Fall ScheduleWeek of...September 5 - Stand alone sermonGroups begin meeting, discussion guides resumeSeptember 12 - Jesus vs. ChristianitySeptember 19 - Jesus vs. ChristianitySeptember 26 - Jesus vs. ChristianityOctober 3 - Jesus vs. ChristianityOctober 10 - Jesus vs. ChristianityOctober 17 - Open, generosityOctober 24 - OpenOctober 31 - OpenNovember 7 - OpenNovember 14 - OpenNovember 21 - Stand a...  Read More

This past weekend, Jessica and I moved Caleb into his first apartment for his second year of college. It was a whirlwind of a few days as we packed him up (without power at our home), trying to think of all the things he might need now that he is officially living on his own. We spent the day driving a trailer full of old furniture down to Springfield, unloading it, putting his room together, taki...  Read More