In the prior post I told of an encounter I had on an airplane with a world traveler. Thinking I was following God’s leading toward a spiritual turn in the convo, the traveler nevertheless stopped me out cold by declaring himself an atheist. I was confused. I thought God had said, “Rick, speak about me,” but when I obeyed . …
Evangelism for All Time: Part 2. God Goes Before Us
Part 1 is here. One day on an airplane I sat next to Elam, a world traveler. His particular mode of travel, I soon learned, was quite unique. He navigated around the globe in a small sailboat — solo. My imagination immediately took flight. Questions ensued about dangerous storms on the high seas, lonely star-speckled nights, radio communications, exotic ports …
Evangelism for All Time, Part 1
By the grace of God I’ve served as an evangelism trainer (and trainee!) for four decades. And again by the grace of God I’ve shared Christ with many. From these experiences I’d like to suggest some ideas about evangelism for you and your campus or church. To begin, I’ll mention that my wife Sharon and I are big fans of …
Part 5 of 5, The View from 40 years: The Art of Employeeship
Trigger warning: Boring post to come. Readers vulnerable to snoozing may wish to simply skip it. (The prior post, Part 4 is here: “The Heart of Leadership and Wise Counsel.”) In the present post I’d like to revive an outdated concept that I never hear about in the workplace or in the blogs and podcasts I frequent: employeeship. It’s a …
The View from 40 years in campus ministry, Part 2 of 5: The Heart of Your Calling
(Part 1, “The Heart of the Minister,” is here.) Finding your niche inside your chosen field shouldn’t be that hard, but it often is. My colleague Paul Tokunaga serves as a leadership coach. His advice is: In your 20s, experiment. Try everything available to you at work. In your 30s, narrow the field. Focus on the two or three things …
The View from 40 years in campus ministry Part 1 of 5: The Heart of the Minister
I began my career with InterVarsity in 1981. I’d like to share some personal and ministry observations from a 40-year viewpoint. A few years ago a college student accused me of lacking in compassion. She may have been right. Navigating my way through the events of that moment, I remember walking a tightrope between truth and compassion, and truth won …
On Productivity, Part 3 of 3
In the last post I mentioned my decision to slow down and place rest ahead of work. Here are three things I learned: 1. You can’t rush rest. It takes a long time. 2. For me, the backlog of personal items coming to the surface was eye-opening. I was overdue on many, such as grieving years of losses and wounds, …
On Productivity, Part 2 of 3
Part 1 is here. Due to covid confinement this past year, I stayed at home, worked alone . . . overdosed on Zoom calls. It was an unwelcome slow-down. One of the blessings, however, was that I was forced into a period of personal reflection, with no chance for escape. I couldn’t bolt over to campus or church, couldn’t engage …
On Productivity, Part 1 of 3
In his fine book, The Unhurried Life, Alan Fadling reminds us that Adam and Eve were created on the sixth day. Thus, instead of plunging into a full work-week where the original couple would tend the garden (Gen 2:15) and rule the earth (1:28), they entered quietly into the seventh day: sabbath rest. Fadling asks a profound question: What if …
On Losing a Parent
I knew this day would come, but I half-denied it. My mom, Tudy (not Trudy) Mattson, always wanted to be young and never accepted the idea of getting old. On the fated day of January 23, a friend remarked to Tudy that she didn’t look well, and suggested she visit the nurse. Mom hopped in her Toyota instead and went …