Donald Miller's Blog, page 153

How Remarkable is World Vision?

Our parents generation started World Vision in the 1950's, and it's grown into an over 2.5 billion-dollar per-year organization providing supplies, food and medical treatment to hurting people around the world. They aren't the sexiest organization, and they don't aim to be fashionable, but I've been amazed at the people who work at World Vision for may years now. I just wanted to show you what they are doing, already, in Haiti.

Follow World Vision President Rich Stearns on the ground in Haiti ...

Who cares about Jay or Conan, what will happen to Nick Thune?

Nick Thune is one of my favorite comedians and the news Jay Leno was changing things up didn't have me wondering about what would happen to Jay or Conan, instead I wondered what would happen to Nick. Nick has a regular spot on Leno under the auspices of a philosopher/advice giver helping us all "change our lives." I hope Leno keeps him, wherever Leno ends up. But with all the talk about Leno and Connan, I thought I'd show you an interview we taped with Nick last month in Los Angeles. It...

A Response to Pat Robertson's Comments about Haiti

Back in the day, the comment Pat Robertson made today would have infuriated me. Robertson essentially blamed the devastation that took place in Haiti yesterday on the idea that, generations ago, people in Haiti sold their souls to the Devil and are now paying for it. I'm reminded of a similar comment made in a debate on CNN, in which yet another religious figure blamed the devastation in New Orleans following Katrina on the debauchery that took place in that town. Luckily, or perhaps...

An E-Mail From Haiti

My friend Randy Williams circulated an e-mail last night that he received from a friend Mark Stuart who is the lead singer of Audio Adrenaline. Mark and his parents started an organization called Hands and Feet working with the people in Haiti. Mark was there when the earthquake hit. If you're a person who prays, do bow in for them and the people they love. Humbling.

Hi everyone….
Our internet is working finally. So I'm sending this to a few of you….
Everyone here is ok, but we are all very...

Dr. Henry Cloud Talks about New Years Resolutions

New Years Resolutions – All Things Converge Podcast preview from All Things Converge Podcast on Vimeo.

Next week I'll be launching a video podcast called All Things Converge in which I interview scholars and entertainers on various subjects. I'll give you more information soon about where you can sign up for the podcast, but for now I wanted to share with you a bit of an interview I did with Dr. Henry Cloud in which he talks about New Years Resolutions.

Henry Cloud is one of my favorite...

Living a Meaningful Story Pt. 2: Creating Memorable Scenes

As you set out to live a great story in 2010, remember to create memorable scenes.

In movies and in novels alike, you'll notice writers tend to place characters in visually (or imaginatively) stunning scenes. When we were working on the screenplay for Blue Like Jazz, I'd often recommend our characters talk about something over coffee or in a dorm room, and Steve and Ben (the other two principle writers) would shake their heads to say no. Scenes in coffee shops are boring. Movies should be...

Living a Good Story, an Alternative to New Years Resolutions

My favorite day of the week is Monday. I love fresh starts. I love making a to-do list and getting most of the stuff I need to get done all week wrapped up in the first couple days. By late Wednesday, life becomes a bit foggy, and by Friday I just want to go to the movies. The weekend is spent doing odds and ends around the house, having completely forgot what my ambition for the week was, and then on Monday morning it's as though the clouds lift and I can see clearly again. So it's fitting t...

The Best Sermon I Ever Heard. Remembering David Gentiles.

This evening I'll speak at the memorial service for David Gentiles. David was my youth pastor growing up. Blue Like Jazz is dedicated to David because he is the reason I am a writer. But he's so much more than that. His life was a remarkable testimony to the power of love, and the reality of Christ incarnate.

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I heard somebody say every life is a sermon, that every new day we preach a point. Maybe that's true, I don't know. It sounds like a lot of pressure to me. And the truth is I've been t...

Merry Christmas

I hope you and yours are enjoying the coming of Christmas. It's a sobering, peaceful Christmas around here. After a tough week following the search for two missing climbers on Mt. Hood, one of which attended Imago Dei here in Portland, the search was called off due to the improbability of their having survived a brutal week on the mountain. And then a dear friend in Texas was in an accident and is now on life support. I'll be flying to Texas tomorrow where the reality that life is fragile...

Amazon Doesn't Sell World Peace, so….

Yesterday, Kristi Henson, a marketing executive at Thomas Nelson Publishers asked me to put together my Chrsitmas wishlist. Apparently, Amazon is running a feature in which they've asked authors to list some items sold on Amazon we might want for Christmas. I think it's their take on the "celebrity playlists" you see on Itunes. Anyway, I sat for a while and thought about the spirit of Christmas and offered them a list. As a Christian leader, I took the assignment very seriously. I think it's ...