On the Iowa prairie where I live, the most humbling hobby I tend is as a beekeeper. This is my 6th year of beekeeping so you would think I would have a few things ironed out. But, instead, I am among the ranks of beekeepers with multiple years of loss, disappointment, hard work that nets […]
When the last of our three children left for college it was a big deal for me. I had this emotional tension vacillating between sadness and satisfaction. And truth be told, I was ready for a “break.” I had earned it, right? Within the same month that I watched our son’s earthly possessions pack up […]
Last week I spent an early morning over zoom with a group of men from Cedar Falls, Iowa who meet together every Thursday. It is a wonderful group who over the last 16 months have become good friends, fellow travelers on the journey. They went through VP3’s The Journey last year and are now working […]
Tomorrow we will spend a couple hours with some men and women who will be facilitating groups through our second-year process, A Way of Life. As I thought about tomorrow’s conversation, I was re-engaged by a portion of the first session of the year entitled An Invitation to Discover. It began to ask some questions of […]
God plants inside every human being a desire to know him. It’s how we were made. Every. Single. Person. I was reminded rather poignantly of this a few weeks ago when I got to sit on the participant side of the VP3 training table while I enjoyed the leadership of one of our VP3 Coaches, […]
I recall in my mid-twenties sharing my faith story with a very wise man. After listening attentively for 20 minutes or so, he responded with a few affirmations and observations and prayers for me. His one observation that still lingers with me today is this: “Rob, seems like growing up you knew all your answers […]
As we face the new millennium, we acknowledge that the state of the Church is marked by a paradox of growth without depth. Our zeal to go wider has not been matched by a commitment to go deeper. The Eastbourne Consultation on Discipleship (England, 1999) It was almost 2,000 years ago that the Apostle Paul […]
When people have recently asked me this question –“Who is The Journey for?”–I have found myself responding by pointing to this Christian developmental path diagram we have been using around our offices. We’ve found it helpful (without prescribing a rigidity) to show where our VantagePoint3 Pathway fits within a broader understanding of a person’s growth toward maturity in Christ […]
Do you remember the Peanut cartoons? The old TV versions had a scene that played out rather often. Lucy would have a football. She would encourage Charlie Brown to attempt to kick the ball while she held it for him. Lucy assured Charlie she would not move the ball. Charlie would buy in and back […]