faithrunner

One of my favorite parts of this stage of life is going to the weddings of friends' children. Kim and I flew down to Harlingen, Texas Friday for the wedding of Brit Knighton (son of Neal and Jane of the Red River Gang) and Christina Quiroz, a beautiful girl he met while they were on a mission trip together with Antioch Community Church, Waco . Jim Johnson, Pastor of Preston Trail Community Church in Frisco and long-time friend, performed the ceremony. It was not only marriage of two people but of two cultures. English and Spanish were part of the celebration and some of the traditions from Christiana's heritage were in the ceremony. They incorporated parts of the Padrinos Ceremony , which were symbolically meaningful to this Gringo. Family members of the Bride provide a Bible, cushions to kneel on for prayer, and a "lazo," a large loop of beads and cord placed in a figure eight shape around the couple that signifies unity in their marriage, for the couple. Both se...

I started reading Dan Allender's latest, Leading with a Limp . I'm reading it with a group of pastors who have covenated to meet monthly to share life and books. It's been a while since I have been part of a group like this, and the timing is right for me. The class I taught for BHCTI on " leadership in ministry ," wet my appetite for this peer learning/support experience again. And, by the way, I will add Allender to my reading list next time. I like Allender's honest, frank approach to leadership . His insights grow out of his own leadership lessons learned while birthing Mars Hill Graduate School in Seattle. I just started, and I will keep you posted as I go, but here's the gist of his message; one which I continually experience and endorse. (Okay, not fully, but who does?) If you are a leader, you are in the battle of your life. (1) ...to the degree you face and name and deal with your failures as a leader, to that same extent you will create and env...

My twenty-year old college student came home this weekend , and she brought home her stack of DVDs. I was rambling through the sack of films when I came across High School Musical . I had heard recently that the music from the film was among the most downloaded on iTunes this year. (I can't verify that...it is in this week's top ten soundtrack downloads) So, based on the popularity of the film, and it was in my hand, and I had time to kill while Kim was getting ready for one of our Christmas parties, I dropped it into the DVD player. The film and storyline are definitely Disney World, but it was fun. It is also Kim's ideal life. She would love it if someday she would be walking down the halls of school where she teaches and she was humming a tune, and soon every student would know the tune, words and dance steps and with music blarring over the school sound system they would move in sync and sing in harmony until the bell rang. The closing scene around "We're al...