Jesus isn't a God who stayed on the mountaintop - he's a Savior who came down and lived and worked with the people.

Michael Jordan once said that the most peaceful moments of his life were on a basketball court, because that's the only place he knew exactly what to do. And to me the most peaceful moments in my ministry are in the pulpit because that's when I really know what I'm going to do.

God is kind, but he is not soft. He takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life change.

There is a rawness and a wonder to life. Pursue it. Hunt for it. Sell out to get it. Don't listen to the whines of those who have settled for a second-rate life and want you to do the same so they won't feel guilty. Your goal is not to live long; it's to live.

I do think there is great strength, though, in starting a sermon with a story, then returning to that story at the end. That puts book ends to a sermon. It is a real simple technique that communicates to the audience that there is a sense of closure, that they have a package here, or we began and we closed with this. I think that's just a nice technique.

It seems to me that election season is just a Petri dish for anger and cynicism.

I know what I'll be preaching in the spring, what I'll be preaching in the summer, and what I'll be preaching next fall.