My 2022 goal highlights include hiking the Grand Canyon down and out in one day, checking off another presidential library, reading thirty-five books, moving across two states to start a new ministry position, and taking a few trips with my adult children and their families by land and sea. I had a full and blessed … More Smart Goals in the New Year
One summer we let our two daughters paint their bedrooms. With every brush stroke of royal purple in one room and stripes of navy, orange and lime green in another we questioned our sanity. But we wanted to connect with them, invest in our relationship with them, earn influence with them, so when they needed … More Connecting to the Unconnected
Bernhard Lichtenberg was a German Catholic priest at St. Hedwig’s Cathedral in Berlin during the time of the transfer of power to Adolf Hitler. He protested to the Nazi officials concerning the arrest and killing of the sick and mentally ill as well as the persecution of the Jews. He also held weekly prayer meetings … More A Priestly Duty
I recently had my annual wellness check. It included a series of tests to measure all my overall health. Going to the doctor routinely can help identify areas in my diet and exercise that may need adjusting before they become full blown problems. In his book, Upstream, Dan Heath says, “Downstream actions react to problems … More Leading Upstream
This past week I celebrated another birthday. Time sure does fly when you are getting old. Growing up I got to pick what I wanted to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner on my birthday. And I still try to live by this motto. If I’m honest, I try to stretch that privilege out longer … More Celebrating Milestones
Every Christian should share the gospel, but not every Christian feels confident enough to do it, even with evangelism training. Creating incremental attainable wins can move them from never sharing to regularly sharing their faith. … More A Winning Evangelism Strategy
Coach, what’s the score?! This question could be heard over and over again during an Upwards basketball 1st/2nd grade game. Upwards basketball has one clear rule for this age group – NO score keeping. Only the time left in a period was on the scoreboard. The purpose behind this was to teach that age group … More New Scorecard
Hiking the Grand Canyon can be dangerous because tourists underestimate the challenge, despite signs posted along hiking trails that read, “WARNING: There are no easy trails into or out of the Grand Canyon!” The way I see it… This warning also applies to revitalization work in established churches that have a long, historic legacy. There … More Four Ways to Build Bridges Not Walls
The older I get the more pronounced my pet peeves are. Airport terminal gates that have half as many seats as the number of seats on the airplane is a big one. You’re supposed to arrive early, but there’s nowhere to sit. Carry-on bags that slow passengers down…waiting for a checked bag…slow traffic…loud public phone … More Pet Peeves
In 1954 Annie Wilkins embarked on an impossible journey from Maine at the age of 67. She had no money, no family, and she had just lost her farm. Her doctor had given her about 2 years to live. But Annie wanted to see the Pacific Ocean before she died. She rode her horse and … More Got a Map?
I’ve been to a few churches this year that don’t have a worship leader and struggle with where to find one. It’s a hot topic among normative size churches, and no one has a good solution. As the older generation of worship leaders are retiring, there doesn’t seem to be a pool of younger ones … More Help Wanted
Americans celebrate Independence Day with traditions like barbecues, fireworks, and watermelon. Another tradition that started in 1916 is Nathan’s Famous Hotdog Eating Contest in New York. The challenge is simple: eat as many hotdogs and buns as you can in 10 minutes. Joey Chestnut is a legend, having won 15 of the last 16 competitions. … More Too Much of a Good Thing
My favorite play as a high school wide receiver was the blindside block. I got hit hard plenty of times during a game crossing into the middle of the field to catch a pass. So when the blindside block play was called, meaning I was blocking for another player, it was my opportunity to catch … More Avoid Being Blindsided
Top Gun: Maverick didn’t disappoint. It hit all the nostalgic notes from the first Top Gun movie more than thirty years ago and gave a nod to the most iconic scenes. One of the overarching theme’s of the movie is the idea of never leaving your wingman. A wingman sticks by your side through thick … More Who’s Your Wingman?
The first cruise Terri and I took was to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. We were pleasantly surprised when our cabin steward greeted us by name. At dinner that first night, our table server sensed my love for the chocolate molten lava cake and I never had to ask for it again. The pool side … More Getting Ready For Company
MoviePass offers members the opportunity to see one movie per day at the theater of their choice for just $9.95 a month. They boasted more than 3 million members in 2019, but Covid-19 shut down theaters in 2020 and have scared away some patrons from ever returning. But MoviePass is trying to make a comeback. … More Finding Your Niche
An effective presidential campaign slogan can be memorable and powerful for years to come. It’s intended to be a rallying cry, promising change or a new direction in our country. The best ones are memorable, regardless of which side of the aisle you’re on. Here are a few you probably recognize: I like Ike – … More 5 Essentials in a Mission Statement
Every pastor will have an off game every once in a while. … More 4 Ways to Cope With a Bad Sunday
Church life creates plenty of roundabouts without pointing to a destination. … More 5 Ways to Exit a Roundabout
Finding the next pastor is a two way street. You aren’t just interviewing him, he’s also interviewing you. … More ISO New Pastor
We can’t all have Ohani’s talent, but we can all have his work ethic. … More Baseball and Work Ethic
A seasoned pit master will tell you it takes several hours to smoke a beef brisket because of the amount of fat and connective tissue. Done right, the result is tender, pull-apart, savory, smokey goodness with a well defined smoke ring. Any short cut in time can reduce the quality of the meat to leather-like … More 3 People Who Need Your Patience
The popular reality TV show, Fixer Upper, can turn a long forgotten house into a sleek contemporary home in just one hour-long episode. But the REAL reality is that it takes Chip and Joanna Gaines closer to 90 days with a whole team of people behind them to complete the home makeover. In my experience, … More Four Silver Bullets To Beware Of
Easter is one of the biggest church gatherings attended by visitors all year. And you’ve probably spent extra hours preparing for this to be the best Easter weekend your church will ever have this side of the rapture. But let’s be honest, if there’s anything less than standing room only this Sunday, you’re also setting … More Three Ways to Avoid an Underwhelming Easter
About a year ago the Ever Given ran aground in the Suez Canal causing global supply-chain issues. Have you heard of her sister ship, Ever Forward? Ever Forward is operated by the same Taiwanese company and is a 1,095 foot cargo ship with more than 4,000 shipping containers aboard. And believe it or not, it … More Stuck…again.
March Madness is made of upsets, underdogs and Cinderella stories. Saint Peter’s, a small school from Jersey City, New Jersey became the first No. 15 seed to advance to the Elite Eight, a feat that’s never been done in NCAA history. The Peacocks won 10 straight games, and beat No. 2 Kentucky, No. 7 Murray … More Every Church Revitalization is a Cinderella Story
On July 2, 1881, James A. Garfield, the 20th President of the United States was shot at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station in Washington D.C. Neither of the shots that President Garfield was hit with should have been fatal, but tragically, he died 79 days later on Sept. 19, 1881. Historians record different accounts … More Three Attributes of a Flexible Leader
The recent story of Lake Hamilton, Arkansas boys high school basketball team is exceptional. Senior Andy Tolleson has been the team manager for his entire high school career and he has special needs. Head Coach Scotty Pennington decided to let him dress out as a player on Senior Night and play in his first ever … More A Winning Team
Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson released a song in January of 1978 entitled Mama Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys. Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys Don’t let ’em pick guitars or drive them old trucks Let ’em be doctors and lawyers and such… Are you singing the … More Church Owners
Elon Musk is best known for 3 big companies: Tesla, PayPal and SpaceX. But he actually owns 5 other companies. One of my favorites is The Boring Company founded in 2016 to alleviate traffic congestion. My favorite part of their mission statement is: “…create safe, fast-to-dig, and low cost transportation, utility, and freight tunnels.” They … More Innovation and the Church
It’s February 2022 and the Winter Olympics have just ended in Beijing, China. Every four years we see Olympic stories of triumph and defeat. It was painful to watch the United States athlete Mikaela Shiffrin fail in her first two events. She was favored to win in the Giant Slalom and Slalom events. Instead, she … More Facing Failure and Setback
Embracing all that God has made me to be has been a lifelong journey. I have strengths but tend to focus on my weaknesses. At times I doubt and second guess things despite my experience and calling. Call it insecurity, fear, or being human. The 2020 COVID pandemic gave me plenty of time, since everything … More The Way I See It
Keith Durham 