The High Calling Blogs Community

As Rita approaches the Texas coast, my anxiety rises. I'm anxious for the safety and comfort of the evacuees. I'm anxious for our small city of Kerrville. Although we're out of harm's way, thousands of evacuees are headed here. I hope we have the ability to absorb and help these people. I've noticed already most of the gas stations in town are...

Knowing that my work brought me in contact with lots of people, a friend asked me, "Who's the most famous person you've ever met?" My immediate thought was, "How strange." I started to think about it, but I decided that no good would come out of my answering his question or even thinking in those terms. I can't help reflecting on my friend's inquiry,...

When did "building relationships" become a euphemism for networking? On television a few weeks ago, I saw an interview with some Hollywood agent. He said his basketball league with others in the entertainment industry was "good for building relationships." That's a fair statement, I suppose. Playing basketball together is a good way for people to get...

I'm a fan of the TV series Law and Order. The judges on that show are always telling over-eager attorneys that they assume "facts not in evidence." Those judges could be talking to me. Assessing situations quickly and making decisions based on instinct or intuition is a strength of mine. However, sometimes I assume facts not in evidence. Sometimes I...

Why do you work? What are you working for? These questions are so cliché in Christian circles they teeter on trite. Yet they really are the only questions worth asking any worker. We can work for the money, our families, a great cause or mission. We can work to stay busy or to impress our boss or coworkers. Some people work out of obligation. Some...

We are products of marketing. Advertising, publicity, spin, buzz, and positioning all influence what we believe about ourselves. Celebrity and wealth are high ideals. We're told to value individual achievement over corporate success, personal expression over community standards, and "me" over everybody else. All we have to do is read a paper or magazine,...

Bitterness imprisons life; love releases it. Bitterness paralyzes life; love empowers it. Bitterness sours life; love sweetens it. Bitterness sickens life; love heals it. Bitterness blinds life; love anoints its eyes. —Harry Emerson Fosdick At some time in life, we're all faced with the prospect of bitter feelings. If we're not mindful of what's happening, or...

The devastation from Hurricane Katrina overwhelms us with concern for our neighbors. We pray. We donate. Some of us will volunteer. Yet how do we respond when people talk about the total loss of a city? There is talk about not rebuilding New Orleans. What does that mean? Where would its inhabitants go? How would other communities absorb these...

My parents died when I was in my twenties. Mom died from blood poisoning and Dad from lung cancer. The difference is that Dad had choices. He decided cancer treatments only prolonged the inevitable. He was only in his seventies, strong and fit for his age, but the prognosis for recovery was bleak. Rather than stay in the hospital, he went home to enjoy...

Some friends recommended that I read Donald Miller's new book, Blue Like Jazz. I consider it a spiritual autobiography that is honest and penetrating. One particular passage caught my attention: "A friend of mine . . . talks to me . . . about the new face of the church in America—about the postmodern church. He says the new church. . .will be relevant...