Surfing the Inner N8

Insights & Outsights from a Guy Trying to Follow Jesus

  • Funny Dancing Video

    My friend Darren, church planter of Mosaic in College Park, posted a hilarious video on his blog.  Click here to check it out.  Make sure you watch it all the way to the end–it keeps getting better! By the way, notice that his wife Keda sent the video to him.  You know you have a… Continue reading

  • Anabaptist Mission & Peace – Day 2 Follow-Up

    Recently I shared some notes from my two-day class a couple weeks ago.  Thought it’d be fitting to include here some follow-up correspondence with Jesse Johnson, pastor of Media Mennonite Church.  This exchange helps to fill out some of the stuff I didn’t include in my earlier summary: Nathan, Read your blog today on day… Continue reading

  • Social Weekend

    Whew, what a weekend!  Carolyn had Friday off, so she came to the Training Station with me so she could meet some of the kids she’s been hearing about.  It was great!  We sat with the kids during their Bible story, watched some three-year-olds learning to play Duck Duck Goose, and played with the kids… Continue reading

  • What’s the Deal With People?

    Yesterday at CrossWay we began a three-part miniseries about people.  We looked at who human beings are, where we came from, and why we exist. People are unique.  Unlike any other creature, God made us in His own image and put us in charge of everything else He made.  Unfortunately, we often abuse that responsibility,… Continue reading

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  • Anabaptist Mission & Peace – Day 2

    The second day of my class last weekend, “Anabaptist Mission and Peace,” is harder to write about. (Of course, it probably would have been easier if I’d done it several days ago!) We got a little deeper into theology, and without writing at length to build that theological framework, a lot of my notes wouldn’t… Continue reading

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  • Who’s the Winner Now, Kid?

    Whenever I’m outside with the Training Station kids and the bell rings for the class to line up to go inside, there is inevitably a straggler or two.  This problem is always easily remedied by calling the kid’s name and saying, “I’ll race you–I think I can win!”  I take off running toward the line,… Continue reading

  • Discovery By Doing

    A couple days ago Mark Batterson, pastor at National Community Church, wrote a post on his blog about a church’s core values. He shares the core values of his church and writes about “discovery by doing.” This idea of “discovery by doing” is so often overlooked in the world of church leadership. People in so… Continue reading

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  • Another Anniversary

    Today also marks another special anniversary in my journey with Jesus. In spring of 1999, I knew without a doubt that God was calling me into pastoral ministry.  I was terrified.  A couple preaching opportunities came my way, but I wiggled out of both of them. Late one night in late August or early September,… Continue reading

  • Side Note

    That last pizza delivery that I wrote about in my last post was delivered to a friend of mine that worked with me.  We used to hang out and drink after work.  After that night nine years ago, I used to talk with him about Christ.  He was very resistant.  He would talk with me… Continue reading

  • The God of October 17, 1998

    Today is a very special day for me.  It was exactly nine years ago today that God got a hold of me. Until that time I had a bad drinking problem, was severely depressed, had no hope, and everything was falling apart.  It was pretty miserable!  I was living in Berlin (Maryland–not Germany), and delivering… Continue reading