Donald Miller's Blog, page 144

The Single, Defining Characteristic of a God-Completed Person…

I've heard this little phrase in Christian circles that says "you can be the person God designed you to be." The implications of the phrase are:

1. You are not the person God designed you to be and

2. The speaker or writer has some sort of formula that is going to help you become who God intended for you to be.

Now to be sure, every time I've heard this the intentions have been terrific. It's always the nicest (and for that matter, most God fearing God loving better than my cynical self) people ...

Having Right Theology Does not Mean You Know God

If it's harder for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get to heaven, it's harder for an elephant to thread that needle than for a person who has right theology to not get arrogant. How many people do you know who have read one John Calvin book and threw it down in a spiral while doing a touchdown dance as though they'd accomplished something themselves?

Five years after releasing my third book, Searching for God Knows What...

Could Your Church Survive if There Were no Sermons?

I'd intended to promote the re-release of Searching for God Knows What this week, but haven't gotten around to it because I've been thinking a lot about church. And apparently so have you considering the number of comments on yesterdays blog. Essentially, I asked if modern churches were mostly educational communities, spiritual community colleges, seminars or schools, and whether there was room for churches to diversify the learning experience without leaning so heavily on the lecture model. ...

Does Your Church Cultivate all Leaders, or Just Church Leaders?

Two close friends of mine don't attend church. Actually, more than two, but the two I am thinking of are interesting because, quite frankly, they are the two most influential people I know. I won't get into what they are doing with their lives, but they are literally positively affecting thousands. And when I say positively affecting, I mean feeding them, getting them water, setting them free from slavery and so forth. And I seem to meet these guys all the time, people who love Jesus, love...

Does Your Church Cultivate all Leaders, or Just Church Leaders

Two close friends of mine don't attend church. Actually, more than two, but the two I am thinking of are interesting because, quite frankly, they are the two most influential people I know. I won't get into what they are doing with their lives, but they are literally positively affecting thousands. And when I say positively affecting, I mean feeding them, getting them water, setting them free from slavery and so forth. And I seem to meet these guys all the time, people who love Jesus, love...

Want to Get to Know Somebody? Understand Their Story

The first conversation we have with somebody can be awkward. We don't know them, so the first thing we do is make connections, how do you know so and so if we are at a party or a wedding is a routine question. If we are both married with kids, we might ask about that, too. We just find common ground, essentially asking the question What do we have in common so I can understand you through the lens of my own experience? Or, perhaps more crudely How are you like me, and so how are you human...

Sunday Morning Music, Rodrigo y Gabriela

This Sunday morning I thought we'd get some latin flavor. Here is a new favorite, Rodrigo y Gabriela. Hope you are having a great Sunday morning!

Knowing Your Work Style Can Help You Avoid Burnout

Recently I read Tom Paterson's book Living the Life You Were Meant to Live and enjoyed it a great deal. I even took part in a 2-day life plan evaluation with somebody who works with Tom's system (Pete Richardson in Colorado) and, together, we evaluated the significant events of my life, my working style, my management style and so on, and then hi-lighted the stuff I was good at and also the stuff I wasn't. I left with a very clear picture of what I needed to do over the next ten years. I...

Five Questions I've Never Been Asked (With Tyler Stanton)

My friend Tyler has a great blog over at www.tylerstanton.com. He makes terrific video's, actually. Very funny. Anyway, so he does these "five questions you've never been asked" interviews and here's his interview with me:

Of the videos the Tripp and Tyler have made, this might be my favorite:

Or this one:

In Defense of Art and the Artist

As a writer, sometimes I wonder what the "profit" of my work is. While I write spiritual books that help people, I also like to write fiction that, well, just tells a story. I'm working on a novel now. And from time to time, I wonder if working on a simple novel is worth anything to anybody. But then I remind myself of three important truths:

1. God does not run a company in which He is looking to make a profit. His creation is more like family than business. In a family, everything isn't...