I find myself intrigued by why people do what they do. In my intrigue, I try my best not to judge, but to simply observe. What makes it so intriguing is that often people are truly unaware of why they do what they do. They just do it! People don’t usually want to admit it […]
Self-Expression… I don’t usually tend to use political examples, but the “Occupy ____” movement has left me fascinated. For the longest time, analysts have tried to narrow down the message to a unified core, to no avail. Talk to five protesters and you get five different messages. Even the supposed leaders of the movement don’t […]
Life is rarely as predictable as we would like it to be. Challenges and opportunities are thrown at us daily, requiring us to adapt to new realities. As a Christian, we know our God never changes, nor does the truth of his word. So how do we apply the truth of God in a world […]
New York Times columnist David Brooks spoke recently at the Aspen Ideas Festival. I caught it on NPR a few days ago and was amazed at how accurately he could identify the changes in the current culture. David breaks down the dramatic shift in our American culture over the past 60 years away from humility and trust. These […]
As the cultural paradigm in America shifts away from a “churched” culture, Christians are challenged to think in new ways about our assumptions. Years ago in America, Christianity was a part of the moral fabric of our society. You could basically assume everybody had a Christian background of some flavor. When those assumptions were made they came with […]
As our congregation has read through the Bible, it has given me an opportunity to preach on passages that I would never have chosen otherwise. Every time, I have been blessed by the power of God’s word to transform lives. So as we made the turn into the New Testament this week, I could’t help […]
You don’t have to be a Christian for very long to realize that God calls upon us to “make disciples” for Him. We are to share the good news of Jesus’ life-giving death on the cross, the forgiveness of sins and life eternal that comes by faith alone. But how? Many evangelism methods have been […]
There are certain questions about life, God and the interaction between the two that stretch our ability to comprehend. “Why does God allow evil in the world?” “Why would God create us with the ability to turn from him?” “How can God be ‘love’ and ‘judge’ at the same time?” These are but a sampling […]
So, why do I want to start a blog and why would I want to name it something like “Shrewd & Innocent?” Well, first of all, it’s a reference to Matthew 10:16: “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” Jesus […]
