In 2005 in eastern Turkey, some shepherds were quietly eating breakfast while “tending” sheep from their village. As they ate the sheep were grazing. One of the sheep wandered dangerously close to a cliff—and then fell to its death. Sheep, being sheep and therefore utterly lacking a sense of direction and utterly lacking, well, sense,…

The most common question related to spiritual gifts is this: “What is my gift?” Closely related to it is this: “How can I discover my spiritual gift?” There are tests that seek to help a person discover his or her gift, but these are not the best way. The best way to discover your gift…

Last Sunday we looked at the incredible topic of spiritual gifts—manifestations of the Holy Spirit given to each follower of Jesus. We are empowered by God’s Spirit to do things that reveal the presence of God among us, whether these are speaking gifts or serving gifts. Those who speak are to do so as if…

I am a natural debater. My Myers-Briggs personality is an “ENTP”, which is often referred to as “the Debater”. I enjoy verbally sparring—not in an argumentative way but as a means of thinking through an idea or concept. I often process things verbally. While I enjoy a good debate, there are some debates that simply…

Several years ago I injured my right knee while playing basketball. After getting some treatment to manage the on-going pain I had an MRI which revealed damage to the cartilage. I underwent micro-fracture surgery, which is a lot like using a tiny jackhammer to create holes in the end of my bone so that a…