4 Comments

Part 1 – The Problem

POP. POP. POP. The rattle of gunshots erupted in the still night air. Here in West Garfield Park, Chicago, gun fire is a daily occurrence, but these shots were close. They sounded as if they are right outside. It was slightly past 2am and Curtis Thompson had just arrived home after a full day of working, mentoring, and ministering. This was home now. At the end of 2007, Michelle and Curtis had made the leap to put down roots into the most violent community in ChicagoRead more

As Sparrows Unto Darkness – Intro

2,986. That is the number of shooting victims in Chicago in 2015. The worst neighborhood is West Garfield Park where 263 crimes were committed in the first month of 2016 alone. That is almost 9 crimes a day. How much would someone have to pay you to live and raise your family in West Garfield Park? 1 Million? 2 Million? 10 Million? How about going there for free and living off donations? This is the story of one family and one mission. To bring light, hope, and salvation to the streets of the one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the country.Read more
1 Comment

The Goodness of Good Friday

“Why do you call me, ‘Good’?” The question must have shocked the young man. He had come to Jesus to learn how to refine his own “goodness,” his own “holiness.” No doubt this ruler identified himself as a “good” man. I mean, ever since birth he had strove and worked to keep the sacred commands passed down from Moses. When others were having fun and partying, he had resisted. It is not like he didn’t have opportunities. Being rich, young,Read more

The Saddest Sight

I see it every day, here in Honduras and in the United States; one of the saddest sights known to man: the joyless Christian. Sometimes they are hard to spot since they look and act like most people. They wear a determined look, except perhaps on Sunday, and they gallop more than walk, determined to let nothing stand in the way of their next appointment. What makes these men and women so sad? What if there was another way.Read more

A Debit Card Faith

They had been at sea for 34 days. The constant southern sun beat against the crew as the endless ocean stretched out before them. “Three more days and no more,” that had been the decree of the crew, their bodies and eyes weathered by disappointment and false hope. Now it had reached critical mass. Either find land or turn back. Here in the darkness of uncertainty, despair, and unfulfilled hopes the Admiral reach back to gather strength from a history of faithfulness.Read more
3 Comments

The Joy of the Cross

The other day, as Jessica and I sat in the clinic with IV’s in our arms, I was reflecting on the Christian life. It easy to be joyful in the air-conditioned cockpit of a Honda, but what does the true joy of a Christian look like?Read more

Death and Pine Trees

The house was sparse and decaying. In the ceiling two gaping holes yawned. One had been covered with two sheets of beige construction paper in a desperate attempt at repair. The tiled floor was arranged with red and dull orange squares laid in a checkerboard fashion. The floor itself was covered with recently plucked pine needles, needles that stuck to one’s shoes as you walked and gave the room a faint smell of Christmas and cold December nights. In the corner, propped up on two identical metal stands was the casket that held the young man.Read more

A Vision in the Clouds

Hey everyone, thought you might enjoy the latest post from my other blog. My wife has lots of crazy dreams and we thought it would be fun to transform some of them into stories. The latest story took an unusual twist and became a really beautiful thought experiment. At the end of each story I have added an explanation of the original dream and some commentary on the story itself. Please post your comments and thoughts. Hope you enjoy itRead more