Surfing the Inner N8

Insights & Outsights from a Guy Trying to Follow Jesus

  • License Plate Honesty

    This weekend I saw a very fitting license plate in Ocean City. It was a Hummer, and it read: “NEEDGAS.” Continue reading

  • A Mennonite Perspective on the Bible

    Yesterday at CrossWay we began a new miniseries in “Creed.”  This one is a two-parter about God’s revelation of Himself to us. In our last miniseries, we spent three weeks talking about how what we believe about God is important because it affects our daily lives as well as eternity.  The most important belief we… Continue reading

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  • Sponge Bob McDonald’s & The Dance Revolution

    Yesterday Carolyn and I borrowed a couple little kids from some friends of ours.  We took Riley (age 5) and Jenna (almost 3) to the pier at St. Martin’s to catch some crabs and look at the fish.  They had a great time, slung mud all over Carolyn, and spent about an hour and a… Continue reading

  • New Hyde Baby!

    The Hyde family grew by one earlier today.  My older brother and his wife had their third son.  The little guy (or not so little–8 pounds, 2 ounces) was definitely ripe for getting born.  His mom started having contractions at 2:30 p.m., and he popped out at 4:15 p.m.  They didn’t even have time to… Continue reading

  • CrossWay On Purpose – Session 14

    For our final Wednesday night session of CrossWay On Purpose, 12 of us tossed around some ideas for our first outreach event. We talked about two different kinds of outreach: attractional and missional (we didn’t use those words, but that’s what they are). Attractional outreach is when we try to bring people into our facility… Continue reading

  • Postponed

    Doh!  Our field trip had to be postponed.  When it comes to delays and cancellations due to weather, the Training Station runs on the same schedule as the Worcester County public schools.  This morning was super foggy, so there was a delay.  That means no morning classes… and no field trip!  But it’s been rescheduled… Continue reading

  • This Train is Leaving the Station

    This morning I’m going on my first field trip with the Training Station.  The older class is going to a pumpkin patch in Ocean City.  It looks like we’re going to have more adults than kids!  Almost every child has a parent going along.  It’s looking like we’ll have nice weather for it, too.  I’ll… Continue reading

  • Getting Ahead in Preaching

    As much as I feel in my groove when I’m preaching, I’ve discovered a serious difficulty that comes with preaching every week: I always feel like I’m preaching a first draft! A sermon is something that really has to be developed, to be worked over, and it’s hard to do week after week.  When I… Continue reading

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  • Bored?Walk! (or Ride)

    With October rolling in yesterday, the boardwalk in Ocean City opened up for bike riding.  So Carolyn and I rode the length of it on a nice early-October evening with a cool breeze and dark, rolling waves.  It was so refreshing! It was kind of funny, though, because we rode down to the inlet–and once… Continue reading

  • Could It Be…?

    It’s still very early in the season, so I’m trying not to get too excited… but the Dallas Cowboys are off to a 4-0 start and are already leading the pack in the NFC East! Like I said, I’m not getting my hopes up, but they’re looking good. Their defense finally showed up against the… Continue reading

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