I was a prodigal.

Sure, I masked my inner rebellion with excellent grades, modest athletic achievement, student leadership positions and a high degree of socialization. But the truth was still there.

I was a prodigal.

I ran from God. I ran from reality. Chasing wine, women and song helped me gain over 15 kg my first year of college and cut my grade point average nearly in half.

Some of my friends reached out to me. They helped me see that I was leaving a wake of strained and broken relationships behind me. They didn’t judge me (well, some did). A few close friends demonstrated that they cared more for me than for my approval. They spoke hard truth with radical grace into my situation.

I was a prodigal. These friends were the arms of a loving father, reaching out and waiting for me to return. To forgive. To invite me to more.

Thanks, friends. It is in your honor that I pray for prodigals on this annual Prayer for Prodigals day, June 2. You can pray for them too. If you want more information, or have interes...

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It’s the first Monday morning workday of 2011 and I have just wrapped up my weekly prayer time with a couple of other men in downtown Orlando. Our conversation surprised me: no one has made any new year’s resolutions. Since the three of us tend to be future-oriented overachievers, I found it interesting not only that we had not made resolutions, but the reasons behind why we had abstained.

Basically, each of us has realized the need for a more profound sense of resting in God’s love in the present. We are inadequate; he makes us adequate. For me this translates into a fresh study of the meaning of the gospel in my own life, relationships and leadership. On January 1st I began looking at each occurrence of the word “gospel” in the New Testament. The ways Jesus, Luke, Paul and Peter use the word (which means “good news”) has already begun to blow fresh breeze through my soul.

I am praying this will impact the way I interact with people in 2011. Sometimes I receive feedback that my intensity and self-confiden...

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Today is Halloween, also known as Reformation Day. On this day in 1517 Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenburg, Germany, forever cementing his reputation as a rebel/prophet/professor with a cause. Here’s a great post that captures the history of Reformation Day.

Today also happens to be my spiritual birthday. It’s great to wake up early on October 31st each year, kneel in thanks and praise to the one true God, and remember trading in my citizenship from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. My life was radically changed on this day. And it keeps on changing. Have a great day!

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Ann and I recently celebrated two major milestones – 25 years of marriage and a newly emptied nest – by taking a week on the Greek island of Kos. It was so awesome that I think we’re going to start taking silver anniversary trips every year. You can view a few pix here.

It costs time and money to celebrate well. Each day we did something special that reminded us of fun activities we’ve pursued at different times in our lifelong friendship. We rented mountain bikes, sailed a catamaran in the Aegean Sea, strolled on the beach, hiked in the hills and ate lots of great Greek food. Near the end of our week we took in the island’s breathtaking views by moped.

A nearly perfect day concluded with a small blip. While climbing up a fairly steep hill, the switchback was too slick and I laid the bike down on our turn. Bam! I vaguely remember apologizing to Ann on the way down: “I’m sorryyyy…” Though we weren’t moving fast we landed hard. Picture 450 pounds of bodies and bike simply falling over in your driveway – you ...

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Sometimes I’m not sure what I want to write about, or if what I write will really make a difference. During these periods I’m learning a simple lesson: Write anyway.

Anyone who has mastered a skill, a sport, an instrument, painting, speaking or writing will probably offer you the same advice: Stay at it. Research streams consistently tell us that it takes about 10,000 hours in a complex activity to become an expert. That’s roughly five years of working 40 hours per week at something. OK, inhale. Exhale. My experience shows that depending on the complexity of the task and how deeply ingrained I want it to become a habit, it will probably take three to six months to get over the hump, then another year to really feel like I know what I am doing. This has proved true for changing my diet, learning a new job, making a new exercise program a part of my life, doing doctoral level research, and leading teams.

This morning I was in a conversation with someone who wants to start blogging. I offered him the same adv...

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