Farewell Blog

I'm no longer devoting attention to this blog. It was fun for a while, but it just got old. I like the url so I might make other plans for it. I'll keep this site up until then.

You can follow me on Twitter or on Facebook.

Thanks for stopping by.

My wife is talented...

...and my daughter is beautiful. Pic from mhillphotography.com

A Story of Trust

Deep: Week 1 Feedback from The Ridge Community Church on Vimeo.

This is Deena Robbins. She is a worship leader at The Ridge and a new mom. In the video, created for The Feed, she tells a story of her and her husband diving deeper into their faith in God through a tough financial situation.

A Safe Place

I'm the oldest of three siblings. I was six when my brother was born and 8 when my sister showed up. We had our normal sibling battles, but I think I had a unique plan and the advantage of being much older. Since they were closer in age, I could manipulate them against each other and sit back and watch them fight it out and get in trouble. It was entertaining to say the least.

When we'd cross the line or when the teasing became too harsh, my mom would step in break it up. Something she said in those moments still sticks with me today. She would explain that the world is hard enough, so home should be a safe place. She reminded us that school was hard, kids were mean, and that teasing would happen outside the walls of our house and there's not much we could do about it. However, home was meant to be a place where it's okay to be yourself and not worry about getting picked on for it. She reminded us that home was supposed to be a place where we're surrounded by love and not abuse.

As a father, I hope I can relay this message to my family as it continues to grow. As a church leader, I want to continue to put this message into practice by helping to create a safe place for people to worship and learn the way God created them to do so. I want our church family at The Ridge to continue to be a community marked by love not judgment or ridicule.

Life is hard. Are you doing everything you can to make sure your home and church are safe places for people to be themselves without fear of judgment or ridicule?

Mathew Perryman Jones Live @The Square Room

Cooking Up Something Tasty

Sorry for the lack of entries lately. I've been in the lab with my friend Jason cooking up something tasty for the web. I can't wait to unveil it in a couple weeks.

Something New

In the book of Joshua, God has some interesting battle plans for Joshua and his army. Click here and read about it. It's pretty specific and quite bizarre as far as battle plans go. In fact, it's the only historical account where God instructed an army to take over a city in this way.

What does that mean for your ministry?

There's great value in learning from other successful ministries, but when it comes to implementing a plan for the one you've been placed over, abundant success comes from the strategy of listening to God and doing what he says.

Is it possible that God has a strategy for your ministry that's never been done before? Are you worried about what others might think?