Donald Miller's Blog, page 141

"….as of tomorrow, I'll be turning this blog over to my dog."

Lucy Miller

You've probably noticed I've written less blog entries over the last couple weeks. There are a number of reasons for this, including a major project I'm trying to wrap up this summer, and an onslaught of guests traveling through town. All great stuff, but all keeping me from  my daily discipline of blogging.

The other day, Lucy, my dog, asked if she could cover the blog for a while. We were at the park and I was moderating comments on my phone and I think she felt sorry for me...

The New Single by Griffin House

Griffin House and his wife Jane are staying at the house tonight with this song in tow. Man, what an honor. How prophetic. He put it together right about the time Nashville was flooding, and he and some friends shot a video real quick. I think it's one of those lyrical pictures that will call us back once we are out of this mess. Hopefully we can learn something from our mistakes. Thanks Griffin.

The single is called "Head for the Hills" and you can get it on I-tunes. I think this song has a T...

An Update on the CHASE Bank Grant

Willie and Lehzan

I'm incredibly humbled by the number of you who have helped us move into the top 50 in the CHASE Bank grant contest currently running on Facebook. Non-profits in the top 200 get 20k from CHASE, and things could certainly change, but we are placing well going into the last week.

I called Dr. Sowers, our The Mentoring Project's President and asked what the chances were that we could win the whole thing, giving us 250k (an entire years budget) and he said it wasn't likely. That s...

Could you do me a favor?

So about once a month, a friends non-profit starts lighting up twitter and facebook asking people to go and vote because somebody somewhere might give them some money. The Mentoring Project has never had a huge twitter following, so we've never entered one of these contests. And to be honest, I normally ignore these twitter requests. It just feels like a teen thing, some sort of popularity contest amongst non-profits.

That said, The Mentoring Project President Dr. John Sowers called me a few d...

The Searching for God Knows What Game

Thomas Nelson Publishers has been working hard for the better part of a year on a really cool concept. For the rerelease of Searching for God Knows What (I updated the book with some new chapters) they created a game complete with prizes. If you're small group is looking for a book to go through for summer, this one has some really cool added features. You can literally win artwork, music, autographed books, other people's books and even a signed picture of my dog Lucy. The way it works is...

Toy Story 3: What We Can Learn From a Great Story Pt. 3 of 3

I've spent the last two days blogging about a movie that, in my opinion, is nearly perfect. I can't overstate how well this movie is written. And what I'm not saying is that Toy Story 3 is my favorite movie, because it isn't, or that it's even in my top ten, I'd have to think about that for a while. What it is, however, is the best-written screenplay to come down the pipe in many years. And of course it has much to teach about life, leadership and the very nature of our existence. So I'll...

Toy Story 3: What We Can Learn From a Great Story Pt. 2 of 3

What made Toy Story 3 great was more than just colorful characters and great graphics, though those were certainly in abundance. What made Toy Story 3 great was a strict adherence to some basic story principles, and those principles can also make a life great. I'll create a short, incomplete list:

1. We knew exactly what the characters wanted. There wasn't a scene in the movie when we didn't know what the principles characters wanted. Whether it was to escape the daycare, or get back to Andy, ...

Toy Story 3: What We Can Learn From a Great Story Pt. 1 of 3

Today I'll launch a three-part series about the movie Toy Story 3. Yes, the movie was that good.

It's rare a story comes along in which the elements are as perfectly clear as they are in this film. The movie is graphically impressive, to be sure, but what really shines is the story itself, and in this movie, the story has been chiseled down to the basic foundational elements, elements that, amazingly, too many screenwriters ignore.

The reason I'm excited about this series is because the...

The Power of Love

I saw a news story recently about a Hindu guru named Mata Amritanandamayi. She's gaining a considerable following worldwide, even filling enormous stadiums with travelers who've come to see her. Her theological schtick is fairly simple, she chants to the Hindu deity Krishna and people sit in front of  her chanting to whatever God they choose. She's referred to as Amma by her followers, which means mother, and she has a motherly aspect, a kind smile, kind eyes and a soft voice.

She does not...

A Leader in the Emerging Church?

The Salem Witch Trials

For the past few years, I've been considered a leader in the emerging church. I've read as much in articles, mostly attacking the theology of the emerging church. I've even sat in a room where they talked about me being a leader in this church. I didn't say anything because I didn't want to embarrass them. There were only about ten people at the panel discussion, in a room without more than 500 chairs. I've normally laughed, because whoever wrote these articles clearly d...