300 words a day

Let’s look outside – again

This post first appeared on March 6, 2009. It was the first post that Paul Merrill wrote on 300 Words a Day. He has enjoyed writing with Jon over the years! +++ We all have a tendency to focus on our own problems. After all, they are what scream the loudest. The kids let us […]

by Jon Swanson

Sometimes, we forget that we actually did remember.

Years ago, I watched a short video about a pastor learning to move at Godspeed. He was in a small community in Scotland, and the church had no office, by design. His work happened on foot, as he moved from house to house, from conversation to conversation. If I remember correctly, the title is a […]

by Jon Swanson

About service.

Rich Dixon is reflecting on the Freedom Tour Classic: +++ I read somewhere that “leader” is mentioned 6 times in the KJV Bible, while “servant” is mentioned more than 900 times. Makes you wonder why we have so many leadership conferences. I’m not a pastor or a Bible nerd. I’ve said many times, it’s not […]

by Jon Swanson

We don’t know what size sandal Jesus wore.

Sandal size apparently isn’t important to understanding the work Jesus did. Neither is height, weight, hair color or length, or eye color. We know that he didn’t stand out for his physical attractiveness. And we can be certain that he didn’t have blue eyes or light skin. If these features had been important, if they […]

by Jon Swanson

An acknowledgement that I need to read more closely.

I started to tell you a story about retirement and Jubilee. Years ago, my friend Katie was retiring from her work helping churches. “People ask me what I’m going to do next,” she said. “I don’t know what to tell them.” I understood. Not long before I had left a job as a pastor, not […]