credit.

Who gets the credit? The recognition? The name? The praise?

If we want the credit, every task is harder, in part because we put so much effort into making sure we get credit that we don't have as much energy to put into the task. 

If we let the credit go, every task becomes easier. There's more time to do what needs to be done, although it is possible no one will ever know you did it. 

But do we want credit or do we want it done? 

abundance vs scarcity.

Why does there seem to be so much abundance in the corporate world and so much scarcity in the religious world? 

Shouldn't it be the opposite?

the roller coaster.

What if we knew that every somewhat boring, clickity-clack, slow, drawn out part of life had a hand raised, squealing-for-joy moment right around the corner?

I think we'd appreciate both much more. 

talk about me?

Just for the record, in case we all forget.

Jesus never said, "Go and talk about me. My stories. A lot. Remember all the stories. And if people don't want to listen, make them listen. And also, pass laws in my name. And then sing songs to me. And just keep remembering all my stories and just keep talking about them - over and over and over. Nothing else really matters but you just talking a lot about me and my stories."

Just for the record. In case we all forget. 

swedish billionaires.

File this one under stats that rock.

Whenever I bring up Sweden (or any neo-socialist country) one of the first critiques is "Who is the government to tell me how much is enough?" In other words, let us be rich if we want to. 

Great. Turns out Sweden (and Norway) have more billionaires per capita than the United States. Turns out they can get rich. Arguably more rich than the United States. 

This whole socialism thing is not about not letting people be rich. It's about managing the gap. It's about not letting your own people be in poverty. Imagine that. 

Another plus for Sweden. 

american teen.

Some say that one of the problems with the teenage brain is that it's not fully developed which means a lack of processing of long term consequences when related to short term thrills. (Others, just for the sake of argument, say this is what allows teens to explore and risk and learn as teens do and is vital for development.) 

Either way, most agree: short term thrills over long-term consequences. 

If you've ever questioned the metaphorical age of our country, you shouldn't any more. We are the new kids on the block - compared to most other nations that have been around for centuries. To confirm that, It would seem we have a current political leadership that is incapable of anything other than short term thrills: long term consequences be damned. 

Classic teenager. I only hope this exploration, risk, and learning eventually pays off as we age. 

one world religion.

Growing up, I often hear this phrase as though it was the advent of Hell itself. 

One world religion. We had to do anything possible to make sure that never happened, which usually meant being very afraid of different religions that said the same thing or calls to unify religions. 

Funny enough, I still find a one world religion terrifying. Not because of its bonding or unifying nature but because it's a religion. And religion is rarely about diversification, unification, the common bond of humanity or true experience of God.  So, of course, one world of that would be hell. Maybe it is hell, I don't know. A religion that refuses to acknowledge the diversity of culture, of language, of perspective and experience. Yikes. 

But, a one world spirituality... if there is a God that's the only thing that makes sense. 

tolerant passion.

Tolerance doesn't mean the lack of opinion. 

It doesn't mean we all have the same opinion. 

It doesn't remove passion. 

In fact, tolerant people should be the most passionate. They should also be able to recognize the opinions, the passion, the humanity in the other and offer them a seat at the table to discuss their differences. That's true tolerance. 

Passionate people disagreeing and coexisting in community. 

Yes there are some who can't handle that table. Not only are they intolerant, they are probably not very passionate either. And definitely terrified they might be wrong.

They can sit at the kids table. 

lights like us.

It's official! I'll be doing an event at The Bing Theater in Spokane, WA on May 3. 

Nervous as hell? Check. 
Excited as I can be? Check. 

Tickets are now available for Lights Like Us. 

Those who know about it have been asking me what it is. So, here's my best answer. 

1. It's a long time away - I'm not sure exactly sure. 

2. An experience. It will be recorded but my goal with this event is that watching the recording is like watching a Coldplay concert on your iPhone. Yeah, just doesn't really do it justice. Am I Coldplay? No. Do I hope to create an experience around who we are and what we're capable of as human beings? 

Yes. 

Spread the word! 

the news.

Try this for a day. 

Notice how much of the news is not actually news. 

It's forecasting, it's opinions, it's quoting someone who is forecasting or has an opinion, it's someone disagreeing with someone's forecast and/or opinion, it's predicting, it's suggesting, it's wondering, it's preparing for someone's forecast/opinion/prediction/suggestion/wondering and then providing another one. 

It's honestly amazing how few stories are actually about something that actually happened. 

Make your news stay present too. 

the middle ground...

After being a pastor for close to 10 years, I've noticed a funny thing. 

People don't like sermons that are too "watered down" and they don't like sermons that are "heretical" which means that they don't like a message that is too much what they already know but also not one that is too much what they don't know. 

I don't think this is a specific thing to pastors or religion or church... it's everywhere in most of life. I also don't find it upsetting or frustrating. We all feel the same way - I feel the same way. Of course, I'm responsible for some of that. I need to work on being someone who can be pushed without reacting but it's also about a chemistry between the listener and the speaker: the student and the teacher. 

When you find a mentor, teacher, speaker, guru, instructor, etc... that can ride that middle ground, hold on tight. When you find the person that can push you just enough without making you run off in terror - well you've found something special. Keep listening. Find more.

And if you can't find any human who does that to you, well... it might not be them. 

a million.

Would you rather have 1 person give you a million dollars or a million people give you 1 dollar? 

Which is harder? 
Which is better? 
Does it matter? 
Why? Why not? 

What's that mean? This has nothing to do with money. 

can we help them both?

I was recently with someone who works for a local non-profit. They help kids. It's beautiful. The bummer is that the person has worked 14 days straight and gets paid a little above minimum wage to work their ass off. 

I was recently with someone who works for a local for-profit. They make money. (They probably give away a fair amount too - I don't know.) But, this person told me that they were getting a $35,000 bonus - which is more than the person working for the non-profit makes in a year. 

The irony seems to be that the companies trying to help others the most help their own the least and the companies trying to help others the least help their own the most. 

Is there a way to help both the most? 

Probably not in the current culture. 

that e.

It’s too bad the e is in the word. It would make more sense without it.

Believe.

Be.

Live. 

How you are. How you live.

That’s actual belief.  

what the hell...

I was recently with a friend who was relating some of the things his parents let him do when he was a kid. He followed it with "What the hell were they thinking?" 

I then responded, "Or maybe, what the hell are parents today thinking? Seems like you turned out pretty well." 

Which is just a reminder for all of us. No one knew what the hell they were doing, no one knows what the hell they are doing, and no one will know what the hell they are doing. 

That doesn't mean we don't keep trying but we do probably start trying to judge a little less. 

want.

You'll sometimes hear: they don't know what they want. So you have to tell them. 

It's sometimes true. 

But, I think, the bigger question is, what do you want? 

Since we often don't know, there are all kinds of people willing to tell us an answer. 

And we'll listen, if we don't know. 

dehumanize.

What if...

The only evil, at the end of the day, is to dehumanize yourself or another?

The only good, at the end of the day, is to reveal the true humanity of yourself or another?

use of.

What's the use of being alive if we aren't living? 

What's the use of having money if we aren't rich? 

What's the use of information if we aren't smart? 

What's the use of being famous if we aren't known? 

What's the use of being religious if we don't love? 

See there's this way to live and then there's this way. 

Don't confuse them. 

the power of a million.

Survivor has been going for 17 years. I've watched every season. (Side note: the show was inspired by a Swedish television series because, of course it was.) 

I watch Survivor because of the human experiment. It's amazing what people will do, how they act, how they lie, how they complain about lying, how they treat one another...  it goes on and on. 

But something hit me the other night. Survivor has the power to make people do all kinds of things that they would never do. They balance for hours, starve their bodies, and put up with bugs, sunburns, and whatever the producers want to run them through.. for a shot at a million dollars. 

Which could seem weird but, of course, it's not. We're all doing all the same things every day for our own shot at a million dollars. 

Which makes you think... life has to be more than a really great episode of Survivor right? 

2 easy steps to success.

1. Show up. (Don't even worry about how, just show up when you're supposed to.) 

2. Be nice. (Get along with people. Be compassionate. Understand relationships.) 

3. Don’t sexually harass or assault women. (This is for men only and should be pretty easy. Apparently it's not.)  

That's it. The skills, the education... that will all come as it should if you follow the above.