Love Like a Gorilla

October 18, 2017

"Your wife is so sweet... your wife is such an angel... your wife is the nicest person I've ever met."

That's Marianne – my lovely wife – and those are the comments that I usually hear from people describing her. And those who know her understand why. She really is the nicest person ever. She is sweet, she is kind, she is gracious and she is generous. She is the pillow to my sword and she really is the best!

BUT....(all the husbands out there need to pray for me because I am risking my life here with this next sentence).... at times my wife reminds me of a gorilla (may God help me!).

LIMITLESS ACCEPTANCE - Family Matters, Part 1

October 16, 2017

Our latest series at The Well is called FAMILY MATTERS and as the name suggests, it's all about family - CHURCH FAMILY!

Church isn't about a building or a weekly gathering. We are a family and what unites us is stronger than blood. But what does it mean to be part of this particular family (STSA)? What makes our family so special and unique? And what's my role in fulfilling the mission of our family - that is "bringing an ancient faith to a modern world"?

That's our topic and we'll take a look at our 10 core values and see how those values define what it means to be a member of the family. Enjoy!!!

Going Beyond the Motions

December 3, 2014

Thanksgiving is over and Christmas is officially here! Over the next few weeks I plan to blog/speak/think a lot about what God is giving us during this season (His Incarnation into the world) and then in response what we are going to give Him back.

But before we focus on WHAT we should give Him, we need to first understand HOW we should give it. As you'll see from the post below - originally written 2 years ago - HOW is more important than WHAT.

The World's Original Problem

September 18, 2013

Trivia question - what was the first “problem” that ever existed in the world? The first dilemma that man had to solve?

a) Rush hour traffic
b) Long lines at the DMV
c) In-laws
d) Loneliness and lack of relationship

If you guessed D, you are correct!

Look no further than the second chapter in the Bible and you’ll see that before there were wars and disasters and violence and diseases – all the things that came as a result of sin – there was another problem...LONELINESS.

“And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone.” (Genesis 2:18)

Keep in mind that at the time, everything was good in the world. No problems. No pain. No sickness. No unemployment. No fighting. No construction on the Beltway during rush hour. Everything was just "good".

BUILDING COMMUNITY Part 1 - Relationship Busters

September 16, 2013

Community. Maybe the most overused word in churches today. It's something that we all need (see Genesis 2:18) but it's just so hard to do - especially at a non-superficial level.

Yesterday at The Well, we looked at some of the reasons why that is. We talked about 3 RELATIONSHIP BUSTERS - those things which are within us that prohibit us from attaining authentic community. If left unaddressed, these three things will eventually rear their ugly heads in every relationship you have - especially the ones closest to you.

Greatness is Not Just an Individual Thing

July 20, 2012

I tricked you yesterday didn’t I? Admit it. I tricked you because I asked you what it means to be great and I intentionally led you down the wrong path for answers. I’ll bet that most people thought in terms of prayer, Bible reading or other such spiritual disciplines. Most of us equate our spiritual success with the amount of spiritual practices that we do.

BUT GOD DOESN’T LOOK AT IT THAT WAY. If God looked at it that way, then the Pharisees would have top dogs in His eyes. They did all the spiritual practices and disciplines; and they did it religiously (pun intended). But while those things are all very good, it takes more than that to be GREAT.

“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become GREAT among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:25-28)

How Can You Say You Love Me If...

July 9, 2012

Imagine that you are walking down the street one day and you see a small child wander out into the street. The child clearly is too young to be in the street and someone needs to get this child back to the sidewalk and safety. As you walk towards the child, you realize that it isn’t just any child; it’s actually the child of one of your close friends – someone whom you have known for years.

As soon as you make that realization, you realize something else too…THERE’S A CAR COMING! The car is coming down the road fast and it doesn’t see the child. You are standing on the side of the road – there’s still time to do something if you choose to, but you need to hurry. You could run out and grab the child. You could yell at the child to get back to safety. You could try to get the driver’s attention and tell him to stop. YOU MUST DO SOMETHING!!!!

But instead, you sit idly by. You choose not to take any action. You turn your head so you don’t have to see what’s coming but you know what happens next. The driver tries to slam on the brakes at the last second, but by then it’s too late. The child suffers fatal injuries and doesn’t make it through the night.

You were there. You could have done something. You could have at least tried. But you chose not to. You stood by idly and took no action when you had the chance to save your best friend’s child.

Are You a Consumer or a Contributor?

July 3, 2012

"What’s the will of God for my life?" That’s the #1 question that we all want to know. Where does God want me to go? When does He want me to go? And what does He want me to do when I get there? WHAT DOES GOD WANT FROM ME?

Well, I believe that the answer to this question isn’t supposed to be as hard as we often make it. Sometimes the answer is right in front of us and we just don’t see it. Of course, no one can fully know the mind and will of God – see Romans 11:33 – but we aren’t supposed to be completely in the dark either. This isn’t “hide & seek” – God wants to reveal His plan for your life even more than you want to discover it.

So what’s the trick then? How do I discover it?

The Power of Sacrifice

June 28, 2012

“And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.” Acts 4:33

Great power. Great grace. I love those two phrases. I want that in my life and I bet you wouldn’t mind them in yours either. The question for today is this: where did that 'great power' and 'great grace' come from?You’ll be surprised by the answer. That verse is found in between some other verses that seem out of place. The verse before it says:

“Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.” (Acts 4:32)

And the verse after it says:

“Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need.” (Acts 4:34-35)

Huh? Those verses are about giving. You’d expect a verse about 'great power' and 'great grace' would come from a passage about prayer or love or fasting or humility or something along those lines. But the Bible here connects it with generosity and giving instead. But not just any kind of giving – real giving, sacrificial giving, giving in a way that doesn’t make sense to give. Maybe the early church knew something that we don’t.

What is Integrity?

June 12, 2012

Integrity. What does it mean? How would you define it? More importantly, do you have it? Would those around you say that you are full of it?

Integrity is not an easy word to define. It’s one of those words that people define in different ways. But I define integrity as this: HONESTY. Integrity is living a life of honesty – a life where I am who I say I am, and my deeds are visibly in line with my words.

Integrity comes from the same root word as “integer” – meaning one, or not divided. A life of integrity is a life where you are one person, not many people. You’re the same person on Sunday mornings as you are on Monday mornings. You’re the same person in front of the spotlight as you are when no one’s looking. Integrity. One. Honesty.

As much as we demand honesty from others, there’s one person that we are willing to put up with some dishonesty from. There’s one person that deals with us dishonestly on a regular basis and we accept it and don’t say a word. Who? OURSELVES!

Your Input Determines Your Output

May 29, 2012

Last summer, I took my family through a rite of passage for all families living in America. It wasn’t something I particularly looked forward to; but it was something that I knew had to be done at some point. And if you have kids too, my guess is that at some point you’ll have to bite the bullet and go through this one day as well...WE WENT TO DISNEY WORLD!

Now, if you’ve never been there, you need to know that going to Disney World isn’t like any other vacation in the world (and you’ll know right away from the price of everything!). Disney World is appropriately named because it isn’t a resort or a destination or a vacation spot…it's a whole other world!

There is so much to do (but you have to pay for doing it) and so much to see (and you have to pay for seeing it too). There’s just so much going on that it can be very overwhelming if you’re not prepared (and did I mention the cost yet?). So during the weeks leading up to this “vacation”, I did what any Type-A, well-organized and well-prepared man would do…I CAME UP WITH A PLAN!

Why Two Are Better Than One

May 21, 2012

“Two are better than one…for if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls for he has no one to help him up” Ecclesiastes 4:10

There I was – about to go up on stage. It was our church’s high school graduation party and this year’s class was a big one. All the seniors were gathered together in the church gym, along with family and friends. The kids were all dressed up and the gym looked like a ballroom. It was a class event all the way.

And then it came time for my part. My part was simple: give a speech and then present a gift to each graduate. The plan was to call them up one by one, hand them the gift and then pause for a Kodak moment – a chance for everyone to take a picture of me handing a gift to the graduating senior.

Seems simple enough right? Any idiot can do that? I would imagine that I could handle something that simple on my own, without any help from anyone. Right?????

WRONG! That day I learned a valuable lesson in why we need each other and why two really are better than one.