Surfing the Inner N8

Insights & Outsights from a Guy Trying to Follow Jesus

  • Preaching: Greatness or Effectiveness?

    One of the best preaching blogs on the Internet is “Biblical Preaching.”  I don’t know how they come up with such rich and helpful material every day!  Today Peter Mead writes on there about the difference between being a great preacher and being an effective preacher, and he explains why we should aim for effectiveness… Continue reading

  • “Let’s Be Friends”

    Just to clarify my post from yesterday: I’m not anti-TNIV.  It’s just that I prefer the plain ol’ NIV. The TNIV and I are still friends, we’re just not dating anymore. Continue reading

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  • The Latest Rate at the Blood Bank

    Yesterday afternoon I went to the Blood Bank.  They were in Ocean City for two days at the Convention Center.  I walked in and was met by two very cheerful ladies who directed me to a table about four steps away.  So I went there and was met by three more ladies who directed me… Continue reading

  • Bible Translations: NIV vs. TNIV

    For some of you, that might be the most boring title for a blog entry that you’ve ever seen.  For those of you still reading: thanks. When I began at CrossWay last May, I decided to preach from the TNIV (Today’s New International Version) translation of the Bible.  Beginning in 2008, I switched over to… Continue reading

  • Weekend Recap

    Another eventful weekend!  Here’s a brief recap: Thursday afternoon and evening were absolutely beautiful.  Opaque gray sky with softly falling snow for hours.  Felt like I was in a snow globe.  We had to cancel our small group because the snow was sticking to the roads, but it sure was awesome weather. Carolyn had a… Continue reading

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  • “A Conversation With Rick Warren”

    Yesterday afternoon I found out that I’ll get to join about 100-150 other pastors in a small gathering with Rick Warren.  It’s a week from Monday. Mark Batterson, pastor of National Community Church, posted about the event on his blog this week.  He gave us an email address where we could RSVP.  So I shot… Continue reading

  • Snow Day!

    We had a nice snowfall last night, enough for Carolyn to get the day off, but now the sun is coming up and threatening our beautiful white crystal landscape.  Guess that’s how it goes in such a moderate climate, situated between the ocean and the bay.  Our road is usually the last to melt, because… Continue reading

  • Update on the “Creed” Series

    Last fall at CrossWay we began a major series called “Creed.”  The goal of this series is to explore up close each of the 24 topics in the Mennonite Confession of Faith.  To avoid having a massive, half-year series, we divided it up into miniseries and scheduled some breaks in between. At the end of… Continue reading

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  • Bummer

    WordPress just ate one of my posts! I wrote about having a great lunch yesterday with Merv Stoltzfus, our conference guy.  Don’t feel like writing it all again.  Bummer. Continue reading

  • Loving God, Loving People

    On Sunday at CrossWay Church we continued the series “The Promised Land” by looking at our strategy for accomplishing our church’s mission.  A brief recap to set the context: the purpose of the church is to glorify God.  That happens when we accomplish our mission, which is to make lifelong followers of Jesus Christ in… Continue reading

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