Surfing the Inner N8

Insights & Outsights from a Guy Trying to Follow Jesus

  • Sign Installation: Step 1

    Well, at least we’ve got a hole dug where the new sign is going to be: As you can see, we’ve got some drainage issues! Continue reading

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  • Squirrel

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  • Tough Questions About God

    On Easter at CrossWay we’re launching a five-week series called “Tough Questions about God.”  Each week we’ll wrestle with a different question. Week One: Why should I believe Jesus really rose from the dead? Week Two: Why do bad things happen to good people? Week Three: Is the Bible really true? Week Four: Don’t all… Continue reading

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  • Sign Update

    This evening we’re breaking ground for installation of the new sign.  Yes! Continue reading

  • Getting Rid of Hymnals

    We’re getting rid of our hymnals at CrossWay.  We just don’t use them anymore.  Today I took inventory so I could give details to some people who are interested in them. Apparently we’d become a kind of orphanage for stray hymnals.  There were 63 of them–consisting of 14 different editions!  How would that work in… Continue reading

  • Baptism!

    Last night we had an awesome baptism service at Berlin First Baptist Church!  Three churches combined and we baptized about 20 people.  The service crossed ethnic, denominational, and language barriers.  Two churches were Baptist, while the other was Mennonite.  Two were English-speaking, one was Spanish-speaking.  Baptizing about 20 people and having everything translated into both… Continue reading

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  • Simple Church Conference

    Last Friday I went to Baltimore with Pastor John Coleman from Church @ the Gathering Tree. We attended a conference at Streetlite Christian Fellowship, led by Eric Geiger. Geiger is the co-author, along with Thom Rainer, of Simple Church. Some takeaways from the conference: If someone came to our church and asked a bunch of… Continue reading

  • Picking Up a Ping Pong Ball (or How Not to Look Cool)

    The other day Pastor John from the Gathering Tree made an astute observation: “I think I’ve looked the dumbest in life trying to pick up a ping pong ball.” Who can’t relate to that?!? Continue reading

  • Reading the Bible with My Wife

    Last night Carolyn and I completed our journey through the NIV One Year Chronological Bible (except in our case it turned out to be the One-and-a-Half Year Chronological Bible). This Bible contains the complete text of the NIV, but it arranges events chronologically.  Much of the Bible does not go in order like a timeline. … Continue reading

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  • Kindergartener One Liners

    One of Carolyn’s students yesterday asked her: “Mrs. Hyde, what’s your last name?” Another one arrived at school wearing glasses for the first time.  She said to Carolyn: “Mrs. Hyde, my new glasses make you look fat!” Continue reading