What is the Rural Think Tank?
In the latest episode of the Rural Think Tank Podcast, I discuss the history and purpose of the Rural Think Tank.
The Rural Think Tank
…It's Different Out Here.
Lost in Translation?
When the Gospel Crosses Cultures You never know when God is going to drop something into your lap. Years ago, I had the opportunity to speak through a translator to a group of Bhutanese refugees in Rochester, New York. My wife and I were on a trip doing groundwork for an upcoming missions team. I …
We Must Re-Think Education in Rural America
Rural Education at a Tipping Point Rural America is approaching, or has already approached, a tipping point in education. The education dollars are largely no longer there. We have to come up with innovative solutions to have competitive students that complete school, have reasons to stay, and start businesses. This is not just an education …
First Trip to DC…
I had the opportunity to visit DC with my sons as part of a school trip last week. It was the first time any of us had been to DC. We were able to visit many of the monuments, memorials, Arlington National Cemetery, Gettysburg, Mount Vernon and more. One of the places was the Vietnam …
You might be “doing it wrong”…
The Value of Learning from Someone Who Has Been There I will be the first to tell you that I am not an expert in ministry. I do things, and try to figure out what can work, mostly by finding out what does not from trying it. Get a mentor in ministry. If you are …
It’s Friday
It’s Friday by SM Lockridge – It’s Friday….Jesus is praying Peter’s a sleeping Judas is betraying But Sunday’s comin’ It’s Friday….Jesus is praying Peter’s a sleeping Judas is betraying But Sunday’s comin’ It’s Friday ….Pilate’s struggling The council is conspiring The crowd is vilifying They don’t even know That Sunday’s comin’ It’s Friday….The disciples are …
Just stop it, already…
This post was originally published on my other blog, MinistryPlace.net “Why do we do this ministry every year?” “Well…kinda because we’ve always been the ones to do It?….” We have all had that conversation in our churches. There seems to be that one ministry in every church that is a sacred cow that happens every year only because it …
4 lessons from the Bible, found on the farm…
The Bible was written in farm country We live in a world where context is vital to our understanding. One of the reasons our society struggles with parts of the Bible is that it is set in an agrarian context. Jesus and Paul used that backdrop and crafted wonderful illustrations. Lets look at a few …
I know a guy…
This post was originally published on MinistryPlace.net. When the snow piles up, community shows up Last weekend brought a snowstorm like I have never seen before. We had temps of -12 and spent approximately two days straight with subzero temps, plus a foot of snow blowing around in 30 mile-per-hour gusts. Our church had a …
Red Wing Shoes and Ministry Consulting…
This post was originally published on MinistryPlace.net. What a shoe store can teach the church Sometimes you learn life lessons in the strangest places. I learned a lesson about church consulting at a Red Wing Shoe Store. There are some high standards for selling shoes that have the Red Wing logo. And those standards have …