Bob's Blog

In a recent Phillies vs. Nationals game, a player from the Phillies fouled a pitch into the upper deck. A man there with his wife and two little girls made a great catch. He received all of the expected congratulations from the fans around him. Then reached down and gave the ball to his four year old daughter. Watch the video below to see what happened next... What a great dad! Many fans attend games for years and are never able to snag a foul ball. When this guy does it and gives it to his daughter, she throws it back. As the announcers say in the video, she is just doing what she has seen the players do. In an interview, the dad said that he could not believe that she threw it back. Then he saw the scared look on her face, like she had done something wrong. So he pulled her to him and hugged her. After the hug, you can tell that she is "all better." What a great dad, to understand the significance of the moment and take the opportunity to communicate to his daug...

I had a great time talking about Liz Murray in last week's service. I thought some of you might like more information about her. Her website is www.homelesstoharvard.com See this wikipedia article to find out where Liz is today!

I am guessing that many of you have seen the 1984 movie called The Karate Kid. In the movie, Daniel has moved to a new town where he does not fit in. He is harassed by a group of martial arts trained young men. Through a series of events, Daniel meets a man named Mr. Miyagi who knows karate and who agrees to train Daniel. Daniel's end goal is to learn to fight so he can defend himself. Mr. Miyagi is wise and knows that the process of learning how to fight is not a short one. There are many things to learn. So he sets out to train Daniel-san. In the above clip, what Daniel-san does not know is that Mr. Miyagi is teaching him how to block. Later as Mr. Miyagi continues this method of teaching, Daniel-san gets angry. He feels that Mr. Miyagi is taking advantage of him. He wants to learn to fight and his teacher is just using him. It is only later that he learns that all of the seemingly menial unrelated tasks have taught and strengthened him. God has a plan for your life. W...

B.Z is a cowboy in Utah. A few days ago he was our guide on a trail ride through sandstone cliffs overlooking Zion National Park at sunset. Despite the upper 90 degree heat, a comparatively cool wind had been blowing all afternoon across the arid hills that flank the eastern border of Zion. We briefly considered canceling our ride due to the dust the wind was kicking up. As 8pm neared, the wind and dust died down a bit. After mounting our horses, B.Z. led us up and around the sandstone bluffs. The horses were relatively sure-footed with only a few slips and stumbles on the narrow rocky sand-covered inclines. Looking into the wind toward the setting sun over Zion, the views from the narrow 200 ft. bluffs were stunning! The moment touched all of the senses. The sight of the sunset and majestic cliffs. The sound of the wind and the feel of it on my face. The exhilaration of sitting in a saddle on a horse just feet from the edge of a cliff. The smell of the sage carried on the ...

The Blended Church, my home church in Indianapolis, IN, has a strong prison ministry called "Broken Chains." Over the past few years, I have had the opportunity to partner with the leader of that ministry, Mike Miller, to teach classes at the Plainfield Re-entry Educational Facility based on John Eldredge's book called "Wild at Heart." I have to admit, before I got involved with this ministry, I was pretty judgmental of the men in prison. My attitude has changed over time. To be sure, my belief that they are accountable for their actions has not changed. But, I think I am getting a better understanding of the kind of situations most of these men come out of. In addition to this, I realize that in many cases the only difference between us and them is that they got caught. Clearly, Jesus has not given up on these men and neither should we. You don't have to take my word for it. When you get to heaven, just ask the thief on the cross.

On multiple occasions, in various meetings with men, I have asked them to give me adjectives to describe a Godly or Christian man. Most of the time the list includes words like these: honest loving meek gentle prayerful diligent trustworthy etc. etc. ... you get the picture Let me ask you this, are these what you dreamt of becoming when you were a boy? Yep, when I grow up I want to be ... trustworthy! Do they inspire you now. Don't get me wrong, they are great attributes, but they are only a part of the full picture. On rare occasions, I will get a few words like, courageous, strong, and mighty. Indeed, these words start to fill out the more accurate picture. Unfortunately, very few Christian men would call themselves out as courageous, strong or mighty. In these exercises, I have never gotten this word... DANGEROUS! But, isn't that just what Jesus was? Ask the Pharisees! Ask the demons! Ask Satan! The first words to describe Jesus that would come to their minds wou...

In our last Connection Group meeting, we watched lesson number two of the 1 Month to Live Program. In this lesson, Chris Shook mentioned that in 1 Samuel 17, David had a "God Level Perspective." This comment really struck a chord with me. Everyone besides David in this chapter had a "ground level" perspective. Only David saw the situation through God's eyes. For in God's eyes, a giant from Gath is no big deal. David clearly demonstrates this perspective when he confronts Goliath. So the Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And the Philistine said, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!" Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, and a spear, and with a javelin. But, I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied....