Hey, On Friday, November 12, 2021, I launched Uncommon Pursuit with a mix of hope and hesitation. I was still recovering from the RZIM debacle, and I wondered: Can I invest my heart into loving and serving people again? It felt uncomfortable, but I knew it would be better to risk having my heart broken again than to give up on telling people about Jesus. Three years later, I'm amazed by what God has done through our community: 12,000+ posts on 1,700 different topics 6,000+ free copies of "12...
5 months ago • 2 min read
Hey, Have you ever tried to cram for Christmas? It's December 23rd and you realize you haven't really thought about what it means that God became a human being. Or, worse, you have, but it just seems like old news. Why do we have to pretend like Jesus being born is new information? Yea, I heard about the Christmas story before. About five dozen times. I've heard how it ends. I got it already. Here's what I've found. I have to intentionally choose to go the other direction. Instead of thinking...
5 months ago • 1 min read
Hey Reader, As we wrap up our launch week for the Academy, I wanted to share the insider perspective with you: what course participants think of the experience. Here are three reviews I've received about our courses: I know one thing: these results are not about me. They are about the participants and their openness to God's love. When I read feedback about the courses, here are four themes I noticed: They engage people's hearts They get people thinking The lessons are clear and accessible...
11 months ago • 2 min read
Hey Reader, When I was preparing to launch The Uncommon Pursuit Academy, one question I had was how to handle refunds. Some online course creators don't offer refunds. They feel that it's too much trouble, maybe they're running a scam, or they worry about being taken advantage of. Perhaps they've had people sign up, download all their material, then demand their money back. So, I asked a social media expert what she thought about my decision to offer a ninety-day, no-questions-asked refund....
11 months ago • 2 min read
Hey Reader, Recently, I started training on a treadmill that offers pre-recorded exercise programs. It's kind of like Peloton. One feature that surprised me was the option to choose your pace. For each workout, I set my own personal baseline pace. Then, as the workout progresses, it adjusts the treadmill's speed to account for my fitness level. Of course, if it's going too slow or fast, I can adjust the speed to be exactly right. As I designed The Uncommon Pursuit Academy, I wanted it to be a...
11 months ago • 3 min read
Hey Reader, When I arrived in Cape Town, South Africa, in October 2010, I didn't know what to expect. But I was excited to meet people! Because over 4,000 Christian leaders representing 198 countries had gathered for ten days of worship, messages, and fellowship at Lausanne's Cape Town Congress. I had arrived earlier to be trained as a table host. After each plenary talk, we gathered around our table to discuss what we had heard, share what it meant in our cultural context, and provide...
11 months ago • 3 min read
It's Finally Here! Hi Reader, (Read to the end for a nice surprise). Are you zig-zagging through life? You hear a sermon and go in one direction. Then you talk to a friend and go in another direction. As a campus minister, I often saw students go on a weekend retreat and make monumental decisions to live for God. Three weeks later, they might confess they’d started dating someone, and things weren’t aligning with Biblical ethics. James talks about how Christians can be blown and tossed by the...
11 months ago • 3 min read
Hi Reader, What is one of the most important ways to keep a New Year's Resolution? My go-to answers might include determination, writing down my goals, and figuring out why I want to change in the first place. There's merit to all those answers. But in a fascinating study published in 2015, a team of researchers investigated an innovative approach to supporting individuals who wanted to lose weight. And if you've ever tried to lose weight and stay healthier, you know how hard it is! Here's...
about 1 year ago • 1 min read
Reader, Does it feel like Christmas? Isn't it easy to get distracted? Everyday, I have to intentionally remember that God is at work in my life. Because the Christmas season is an opportunity to cultivate a deeper desire for Jesus. But that raises the question: who is "Jesus"? Do we get to make it up? If we're going to have a relationship with the God who is there, we need to carefully read the Scriptures. So this week's essay invites you - and me - to consider who Jesus really is. It's an...
over 1 year ago • 3 min read