Welcome to my blog. I spend half my life in coffee shops having honest conversations about how following Jesus works in real life. So, let’s learn together, grab a cup and – join the conversation.

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I’ll post every Monday and invite you to weigh in.

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Quick Bio
I’m a businessman, elder in one of the more conservative mega churches in Grand Rapids, Michigan and for over 25 years a full time spiritual mentor of men. I love introducing people to Jesus and truth from God’s perspective. I’m also an NPR listener and student of our culture because I want to understand how the world and a younger generation think, so I’m prepared to engage in conversations which are true to the Bible, intellectually honest and gracious.

Following Jesus is the only hope I have of living this life with purpose, energy and expectation. I hope to end my days on earth still meeting young men at Starbucks who have no interest in God, being the patriarch of my family, cheering them on to godliness, making sad people smile and the lonely – laugh, giving the poor hope, pointing wayward men back to their families, teaching the whole counsel of God and keeping myself unstained – God’s reputation and mine intact.

More? Go to About.

Welcome to my blog.
I spend half my life in coffee shops having honest conversations about how following Jesus works in real life. So, let’s learn together, grab a cup and join the conversation.

This edition from Simon and Schuster has been totally revised with expanded teachings and a study guide. Available in stores and online now!


   
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16
Apr/2018
Training Your Grandchildren to be Grandparents
Posted by Clare
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A few months ago, I took several of our grandchildren out for pizza. I love being a grandparent – it’s like renting, instead of owning! It’s all the joy of parenting, without the worry of day-to-day maintenance.

So on the ride home I told them – again, how much I enjoy hanging out with them. So, one of them asked this question, “Why do you and Nana spend so much time with us?” My answer surprised them.
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9
Apr/2018
The Great Divide
Posted by Clare
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Fred Smith is a leader of Christian leaders. His thoughtful blog below, does a great job of reviewing evangelical history over the last half century and how that has impacted our views of evangelism and The Great Commission.

Every thoughtful, generous, Christian engaged in kingdom work has been impacted by these ideas whether they know it or not. Please take a few minutes to find out how.
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2
Apr/2018
Have You Lost Your Fear of God?
Posted by Clare
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When I grew up, I was afraid of God. I wasn’t afraid all the time, but I was when I was a child and naughty. As a teenager, I knew there were sinful things I was doing, or tempted to do that would anger or disappoint God. I also knew God took sin seriously, even if I always didn’t.

But, back in those days, I thought like most people, as long as my virtues outweighed my sin, I’d be alright. On a scale of 1-10, I thought I was a 7 and if God graded on the curve, I thought I could make the cut!

But I still had some fear. Of course, I was taught that Jesus forgave every sin of every true believer, but I was also taught about the Judgment. So I knew, someday, in this life or the next, there would be consequences for my sin – not hell, but some unpleasant punishment that I knew I deserved or some ill-defined reward that I would miss out on.

Unfortunately, as I’ve matured in my faith, I’ve lost some of that fear and you may have as well.
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26
Mar/2018
The Sin of Doing Nothing!
Posted by Clare
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“Anyone then who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.” James 4:17

I’ve been reading the Book of James for my morning devotions. In that book, James comes right out of the chute hard on obedience. James cannot imagine a lukewarm, or disobedient Christian. To him that term is an oxymoron. He’s the famous “faith without works is dead” brother of Jesus, and the apostle, who made the statement we all think many other Christians are guilty of, but we ourselves are not!

The truth is most of us are fairly good at sin management. That is, we manage to avoid the “felony sins” – public sins like adultery, alcoholism, theft and taking God’s name in vain. But rarely do we think about the sins of omission as I was taught as a kid – the things we ought to do, that we fail to do. “Like what?” you might be asking.
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