Blog Entries

What You Can Be

joe@communityofhope.com — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 21:28:57 +0100

I read a quote credited to Coach Tom Landry, “The job of a football coach is to make men do what they don’t want to do, in order to achieve what they’ve always wanted to be.” It occurred to me that that is also the work of a pastor, with one HUGE exception. A pastor can& [...]

Unlocking Your Faith

joe@communityofhope.com — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 11:22:13 +0100

We are currently in a message series that we're calling "Unlocking Your Faith." Du [...]

Resilience

joe@communityofhope.com — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:44:48 +0100

From time-to-time I receive something that’s too good not to pass on. The following is an excerpt from an online devotional that I receive. “I received a brochure a while back from a company specializing in "resilient furniture": simple, sturdy, water resi [...]

The Power of Teamwork

joe@communityofhope.com — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:29:27 +0100

Lyndon Johnson said, “There are no problems we cannot solve together, and very few we can solve by ourselves.” I am continually amazed at the power and impact of community as it comes together to tackle a task. A case in [...]

Let the Weak Say...

joe@communityofhope.com — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:26:00 +0100

I recently read that the average person talks to himself or herself thousands of times a day. The article also noted that much of that self-talk is negative. “You’re so stupid!” “Why can’t you do anything right? You&r [...]

Putting Vision to Work

joe@communityofhope.com — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 16:49:16 +0100

When I was in my early twenties, I sat down one day and made a list of all the things I wanted to accomplish in life. There must have been at least 100 items on the list (whatever happened to that list?) Some of them big, some of them small; some were personal [...]

Spiritual, Emotional and Physical Health

joe@communityofhope.com — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 02:00:00 +0100

Three years ago the signs of deep neglect came to the surface in my life. In working to get Community of Hope birthed, I had invested 7 years of energy and time that had left me depleted. I had neglected my own health. Drained, passionless, and angry, my emotional, physical and spiritual h [...]

Finding True Rest

joe@communityofhope.com — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 02:00:00 +0100

This past Sunday I spoke about the American Idol of "materialism." More specifically I referred to it in terms of "greed." American author Iving Kristol said, "Being frustrated is disagreeable, but the real disasters of life begin when you get what you [...]

Sin Tamer

joe@communityofhope.com — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 02:00:00 +0100
Today, I read an article written by one of my favorite writers and teachers, John Ortberg. The article titled "Sin Tamer" takes an interesting look at an uncomfortable topic.

Allow me to share some of the article's excerpts. "How much sin should we expect in the c [...]

Where Never is Heard a Discouraging Word...

joe@communityofhope.com — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 02:00:00 +0100
Anatole France once said, "Nine tenths of education is encouragement." The same can be said for preaching, with a slightly different percentage; according to Paul, 33% of preaching is encouragement. He said, "But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their stre [...]

Here's To Dads

joe@communityofhope.com — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 02:00:00 +0100

I have to admit, Dad's tend to get a pretty bad rap these days. Some of it is justified, but I know tons of dads who are attempting to be a good example. You probably already know most of Johnny Cash's story. He became famous in the fifties at the [...]

Not Disappointed

joe@communityofhope.com — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 02:00:00 +0100

The Annual Conference of the Central Texas Conference has come and gone, and I must say that's it's the best Annual Conference I've attended in the last two decades. There was a spirit of renewal, hope, and joy i [...]

Guarded Excitement

joe@communityofhope.com — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 02:00:00 +0100
Our Annual Conference begins this week and I usually approach this time with the lowest level of enthusiasm that I can display - such as...what does a heart rate of 2 beats per minute look like? You get the picture.

I'm not a newbie at this. This year I will [...]

The Importance of Everyday

joe@communityofhope.com — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:29:34 +0100

Andre Previn said, “If I miss a day of practice, I know it. If I miss two days, my manager knows it. If I miss three days, my audience, knows it.” He was talking about the piano, but the same is true about your devotional life. When you’re [...]

Never Too Late

joe@communityofhope.com — Tue, 26 May 2009 02:00:00 +0100

In 1912, marathon runner Shizo Kanakuri was chosen to represent Japan in the Summer Olympics at Stockholm. He began the race with the rest of the runners, but along the way was overcome with heat. He stopped at a garden party for some refreshment, but he stayed a little [...]

Simple Church

joe@communityofhope.com — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0100

I m currently listening to an audio book titled, Simple Church. Im compelled to make a confession. I live a cluttered life. Okay, I said i [...]

Sabbath Stuff

joe@communityofhope.com — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Whew, Sunday wasn't too bad. I actually made it through a talk on the topic of sex and didn't stray from my notes too many times. I would have you know that Pam is proud of me. Let me shift the topic onto another matter. Last week I downloaded an audio book, Mudhouse Sabbath [...]

Sex God Message Series

joe@communityofhope.com — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0100
I grew up as a child of the 60's, right in the middle of the sexual revolution. The word "revolution" means change, but the true definition is a change that ushers in something better. So here's the question - [...]