Review: Equipped for Adventure

Equipped for Adventure: A Practical Guide to Short-Term Mission Trips by Scott Kirby was published in 2006 by New Hope Publishers. It is a handbook for making short-term mission trips happen.  This is a holistic treatment of the process of making short-term missions a centerpiece of your church's...

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Review: Spiritual Leadership in the Global City

Spiritual Leadership in the Global City was written by Mac Pier and published in 2008 by New Hope Publishers. This is a book of stories and mission combined to get your mind and heart thinking about what it means to reach a city.  Pier's text looks at twenty different churches and Christian...

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Review: Eyes Wide Open

Eyes Wide Open by William D. RomanowskiBrazos Press, 2001.Group Discussion QuestionsEyes Wide Open was written by William D. Romanowski the Professor of Communication Arts & Sciences at Calvin College. It was initially published in 2001 and was revised and expanded in 2007. As a Christ-follower...

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Review: Compelled By Love

Compelled by Love: The Most Excellent Way to Missional Living was written by Ed Stetzer and Phillip Nation and published by New Hope Publishers.  Stetzer is the director of LifeWay Christian Resources and Nation is a church planting missionary in north Metro Atlanta.Compelled is broken up into...

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Review: Trolls and Truth

So, I have this awesome opportunity to read and review books from New Hope Publishers.  It's a great way to score some free books and have some accountability to read! Anyway, here is review number one (review number two will come today or tomorrow).Trolls and Truth: 14 Realities About Today's...

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>Down by the Sea

>Posted by Robin Schmidt on September 21st, 2009Paul wrote a letter to the believers in Rome. In it he says that which is known about God is evident, for God made it evident. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made...I believe that there is much to learn about God from his...

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Discipleship...who knew.

So it turns that some of the greatest thinkers in the Christian world are coming to the conclusion that the church has missed something.  It has missed "discipleship".  We are not training, building, developing, and sending mature believers into the world.  It seems to me that this is...

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A grocery store...IN DETROIT??? Yep...

So, one of the things that has always made living in the actual city of Detroit a difficult thing for many families (and no suburbs are not Detroit, ehem...Redford) is that there have been no real grocery stores there.  That is all about to change with Meijer building a store near 8 Mile and Woodward. ...

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Review: Activate

Doug Walker passed along a book for me to check out and I thought that is was pretty helpful. So, I thought I would briefly review it here. The book is entitled Activate: An Entirely New Approach to Small Groups. The authors Nelson Searcy and Kerrick Thomas are pastors at the Journey Church in New York...

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The Younger Unchurched...

There are so many thoughts running around in regards to the emerging generations.  These generations are building an ever greater legend for themselves as the "unreachable" generation. They drop out of the faith following high school.  They are all "evolutionists". They "hate the church".The...

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Review: Prodigal God

On my vacation I am reading! It's great!  I just finished The Prodigal God by Tim Keller and am going to wade into Peterson's Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places next. But, I wanted to get some thoughts out about Prodigal first.Tim Keller is the pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York...

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Whatever...

The sermon from July 19 was lost.  So, I am putting up a manuscripted version of it for those that want to take a look at what was said but missed it.  It's not exact but hits the same points.Hebrews 12:18-29We don’t believe that God is who he says he is and therefore we we don’t care.The...

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Love and marriage, love and marriage, USED to go together...

If you are wondering about the effects of the much ballyhooed "Sexual Revolution" of the 1960s then I suggest you take a look at this article. If you are wondering whether or not things have changed in the world then I suggest you read this article. Friends, this is not your world anymore.  The emerging generation has solidified a sexual and moral compass that requires us to help those who are...

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Model D - Another exploration of Detroit's farming potential, from Traffic Jam to the classroom

I wrote recently about the necessity for our city to draw people back and experience a revival. This article from Model D is a great example how we could possibly begin the revitalization of Detroit and its outlying areas. Could not the church be the driving force in this transformation and reclamation of the abandoned properties?Model D - Another exploration of Detroit's farming potential, from Traffic...

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>Are you comfortable?

>When I was in the hospital giving birth to Michael I was bouncing around on the bed a lot. My doctor asked me, What are you doing? I said, I am trying to get comfortable. He responded, with the wisdom of Solomon, You won't be comfortable until it is over. That truth applies to a lot more than childbirth...Posted by Robin Schmidt on July 7th, 2009I had a rough week last week. Maybe you heard....

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>The Power of Apology

>Posted by Robin Schmidt on June 23rd, 2009Have you ever been hurt? It is usually the people closest to us that hurt us.Is it ever easy to ask someone's forgiveness? Is it ever easy to say, I was wrong, I am sorry, please forgive me?It may be even harder to grant forgiveness.Growing up I can't remember my father ever saying he was sorry. We talked about that many years ago. I shared a specific...

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Urban Exile: Gran Torino

I read this article this morning because I am always interested to see what people have to say about Michigan and Detroit.  Usually it's some sort of comedic piece or a good chuckle at the ineptitude of the city's political structure.  However, this morning when I read this Out of Ur post on Gran Torino I was moved.You see, it's not everyday that you see a snapshot of Detrtoit that points...

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>The Road Not There

>Robert Frost took the road less traveled, and it made all the difference. But what about when the choice is not between two roads, but moving forward where there is no path at all?Posted by Robin Schmidt on June 11th, 2009We are the "sandwich" generation. Sandwiched between the needs of our parents and our children. I am feeling it. If I am feeling anything. Sometimes the feelings are hard to...

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Connector Churches

I read this today and thought that the nine traits listed in Ed's book are really insightful.  What do you think?http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/edstetzer/Creating Deeper CommunityChurches that are effective at attracting and developing young adults place a high value on moving people into a healthy...

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Baseball, Redemption, and a Hospital Room

A week ago yesterday my bride received a phone call. It was one of those calls that you dread. Her dad, Dennis, was in the hospital due to a stroke. It was "minor" but for a man like Dennis and for a family like ours it is major. Dennis is an athlete (at times becoming a scratch golfer!).  Dennis...

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Scot McKnight on Spiritual Eroticism

Scot McKnight: Spiritual Eroticism | Out of Ur | Conversations for Ministry Leaders.Above is a link to an article by Scot McKnight.  As I read it I was struck by how pointed the article was. Do we love Jesus, no really, do we love Jesus with the kind of love that requires us to be in his presence? Or are we satisfied with the idea of loving Jes...

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>Two Scoops

>I like children's music and videos and stories. I learn a lot from them. Sometimes the most profound truth can be explained with two scoops and some breakfast cereal.Posted by Robin Schmidt on February 26th, 2009I heard a children's sermon once that really stuck with me.Hugh Auburn of Bay Presbyterian Church gathered the children one Sunday morning and invited one of them to help him. He had two...

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