Blog
Transformation ...
Moving ahead ...
Looking more like Christ ...
Helping others to live it out
Here's a few thoughts. 
Seeing Movement
I returned recently from two sets of leadership meetings and a conference led by our African-American Network. The main discussion was how do we launch a disciplemaking movement. Worldwide missiologists have observed 1400 of them. They are a rapid advancement of the...
The three words in discipleship
What are the most important words in discipleship? Can we boil it down to just a few key ideas? If you had to use just three words what would yours be? Words have great power. We have all experienced a powerful speech by a coach, a politician or a parent that moved...
Broadening my Service
February marks the forth month in my new role. I am enjoying it and sensing that I am already making a contribution. I am a part of The Navigators one million disciplemaker strategy. This role expands the spectrum of ministry expressions. Let me unpack what my new...
Best ways to kickstart your prayer life
Prayer is simply a conversation with God. It can be uttered by children beautifully and by mature adults, wonderfully nuanced for all life brings. Tim Keller wrote, “Prayer, then is both awe and intimacy, struggle, and reality.” That rich description of all it could...
A simple spiritual discipline that is missing
The disciples had watched Jesus closely and had noted something. They knew he clearly understood this topic better than them. Jesus practiced it at a much higher level than they had seen in their own lives and the lives of the spiritual leaders around them. The more...
Cowboy Hats & Disciplemaking Culture
When I was a boy, my dad made an announcement at dinner that we were moving. My brothers and sister loved the town and neighborhood where we lived. There were lots of kids on our street and gracious neighbors. Dad’s dinnertime news threw us all. Soon we were boarding...
Steps to a disciplemaking culture
Culture has a magnetic power to transform us. It will build into us how we speak, the values we live by, the stories we tell, and what we do. David Brooks echoes this in his book, The Second Mountain: “Never underestimate the power of the environment you work in to...
Grow up!
Oh grow up! That was on my mind when my wife and I had just returned from being with our daughter. We were working through a pesky issue our daughter was having with a neighbor. We were discussing the potential options. Helen had one idea and I had another. Helen...
Seeing our mission statement become a reality
The Navigators Church Ministries (NCM) staff has put a lot of work developing our mission and vision statement. They are helpful for all our staff to work towards that right things together. There is energy when the statements come together as our leadership team did...
Christmas Update
Merry Christmas! It is a Merry Christmas. We have much to be joyful about. Despite the ups and downs of the year, we can come to this time celebrating. Here’s a way I have smiled this fall. I bumped into this superb gift the Lord has given us. At this time of year we...
The Secret to Healthy Core Teams
The growing season was upon me. I was sure that, like every new year, it was going to be great. I had added a new raised bed. I had dug up the soil and added amendments. A tomato plant I had started from seed was properly placed in the bed. I couldn’t wait to get...
Three things I’m looking forward to this fall.
It has been a good summer of preparing for the fall. There is lots of items and events on the schedule. Here’s three I want to highlight for you. Akron Disciplemakers. Discipling others offers plenty of roadblocks. People are unique. What will propel them forward...
Help Wanted Signs
Have you seen all the “Help Wanted” signs that are popping up everywhere? It seems like every restaurant in my area has one up. In one way it is a good sign. It means the economy may be bouncing, Covid’s ravages are waning. There is a place that needs a “Help Wanted”...
Help for Gardening and Disciplemaking
My wife and I love gardening. We’re not alone. Across the U.S. it is said to be the most popular hobby. There are a bunch of reasons: seeing growth, planning how a landscape can be more beautiful, and enjoying the produce. Even though I love it, there are challenges....
A Rudy Moment
March 2011 was a tough chapter in my life. It was one of those times you wake up and say to yourself, “What the heck happened?” I felt like I had been hit by a two by four across the head. I was in a transition from my church to who knows what. What was I now going to...
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