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So there is no doubt I get loud in my preaching. Usually I’m so revved up many people ask me how many cups of coffee I have had. In truth it was only one Grande from Starbucks ($1.96 thank you very much) that morning.

However, I’ve always struggled a bit to NOT preach in one speed…fast! One time someone described my preaching as “trying to drink from a fire hose.” Love it. Even though I do recognize the need for some rhythm and the use of different gears.

All that to say in the evaluations that we solicit from some of our Suncresters this week, one reviewer wrote this:

I thought Doug was going to go crazy the chairs on stage. However, I thought he seemed pretty comfortable and did a good job of balancing the chairs with moving around. Always a plus when Doug doesn’t yell.

Makes me laugh.

Last month I had the honor of teaching on Heaven at Suncrest. One of my favorite theologians (in general and in specific on Heaven) is N.T. Wright. Below is an interview on the Stephen Colbert show. Not the typical thing you would expect to see Wright on as The Colbert Report is a show on Comedy Central. What is so great about this clip though is Wright is so poised, whimsical and clear in the interview. He is everything I wish other Christians would be when they appear on radio or television. What happens to the contrary more times than not is that they make us appear boring, irrelevant or judgemental. Way to go N.T.!

1 man

6 kids

10 hours

No Problem

DSC00791, originally uploaded by diggity doug.

Look’s like we need a dental plan.

It’s about stinkin’ time.

Read about it here.

I remember sitting in a Starbucks and this guy asks me about the internet there. I told him I never used it because it was like $10 and I could go down the road to Panera and get it for free. He said he would gladly pay because after all…it was Starbucks! I like Starbucks a lot…but not that much.

Now with the use of a registered gift card you get it for free. Yeah Starbucks. Here’s a pic of my gift card which reminds me of my pilgrimage to mecca.

Paper person overshot the porch a little.

Those guys from Lifechurch.tv are just too cool. BTW, Suncrest is doing a God at the Movies series this fall. Can’t wait. And no we did not steal it from Lifechurch.tv. We stole it from someplace else…

Anything Short of Sin from LifeChurch.tv on Vimeo.

Filmed some video for this week’s message today. It was a great experience, even though I’m pretty uncomfortable on camera and can’t quite make it into my “zone” when the camera is on. This is especially true when I’m on the street and people are passing by and staring.

We filmed outside of Harpo Studios because I am speaking on “What would Jesus say to Oprah Winfrey?” this coming Sunday. We fully expected to be chased off but was only asked what we were doing by security and then left alone. That is, until we ran into Joe who goes to Suncrest and works for Oprah! Great to see him in a different context other than church.

This video effort is a hybrid in concept of most of the videos we have done. This one more than others is intended to be a part of the message rather than stand alone from the message. In fact, I teach through the first point of my message on camera. (We did something similiar in the Catalyst series with Greg on video and me in person.) I wanted to try it this week as I have been really intrigued by others doing this. Lifechurch.tv has really made an artform out of live with video teaching. We’ll see how it goes this Sunday.

Thanks to Kevin for doing all the hard work of videoing and editing.

Sometimes you read through Scripture and it totally messes with you. Enter Hosea. God basically told him to marry a prostitute as an illustration for how Israel was treating God. What’s more, she left him and found another “lover” and then God told Hosea to go and get her back just like He had done with Israel.

What is going on here?

First, I think it messes with us because we have this working assumption that God always acts in ways that we perceive as good. So, when something we perceive as bad happens, we ask, “Where is God?” Our perception is not always God’s reality. And our perception of what is good is not always what is actually good.

Second, God’s greatest goal in our life is not to make us happy. In a beautiful analogy to marriage, God said it this way in Hosea 2:9:

I have to ask myself that question today. It’s an appropriate time to pause and consider how I’ve grown as a dad. I’ve noticed something interesting with each child being born. My love for my children has grown exponentially over the years. When my first was born I did love him, but it seems I love him even more today. Along with that my desire to grow as a dad has grown.

I’ve had to give up some things along the way to be a great dad. I’m not going to be a good golfer. I’m not going to have a lot of hobbies. I’m not going to travel a lot.

And yet, despite all the things I’m not going to be or have, the one thing that I get to be that more than makes up for any sacrifice is dad. The one and only dad to Ethan, Daisy, Grace and Ben.