Category: College Avenue Baptist Church

  • So What Have You Been Up To Lately?

    Glad you asked that question. One thing I haven’t been doing is posting articles on this website. Sorry about that. I tend to be a private person most of the time. I don’t share much and I definitely don’t overshare. It’s not that I have that much to protect with privacy, it’s just that I…

  • MexiGO 2017

    So, when you only post one blog per year, I guess you have no right to call yourself a blogger. It’s not that I don’t have anything to write about. I do … but I just don’t have the time, or at least I don’t make the time. And in recent years I have become…

  • Another Great Week in Mexico

    Last week I led a group from College Avenue Baptist Church to Ensenada, B.C. Mexico to build a house for a family living in poverty and to conduct a VBS (Vacation Bible School) program for neighborhood children. There were 36 of us in all who went, ranging in age from 4 to 70 (or so).…

  • On the Renovation (or Not!) of Old Hymns

    A few years ago College Avenue Baptist Church did the unthinkable by pulling the plug on its two Sunday morning worship services. These services, one held in the gymnasium, the other held in the sanctuary, divided the congregation according to their preferred worship styles. One service was casual and hip, featuring music by contemporary artists…

  • Lost and Found Keys in Mexico

    I just returned from another incredible week of ministry in Mexico. For the past six years, I’ve led a family (intergenerational) mission trip designed to give families and individuals an immersion experience in serving the poor and living in community with each other for a few days. We built a house for young Mexican family,…

  • MexiGO! 2015

    One of the things that I continue to do at College Avenue Baptist Church is to organize and lead a family mission trip to Mexico. Here is a video that describes the trip. Thanks to my buddy Ed Watts for putting it together. MEXIGOFINAL1a1 from College Avenue on Vimeo.

  • On Not Using “R” Word

    “So how do you like being retired?” Having resigned my staff position at College Avenue Baptist Church last month, that’s the question I keep hearing from well-meaning folks who assume I’ve stopped working and have all kinds of free time on my hands. “I’m not really retired,” I insist. “I’m busy. I don’t have time…

  • Speed Mentoring

    This past weekend, our church held its third annual all-church retreat at a conference center in the mountains near San Diego. CABC@PineValley, as the retreat is known, is designed to bring all ages of the church together for a weekend immersion experience in community-building. About half of our church attended this year and by all…

  • Where is Your Keilah?

    A few months ago I attended a conference for aging baby-boomers called “Recalculate.” I had a chance to reconnect with some good friends from my YFC and Forest Home days, Bob and Carol Kraning, their son Kent and his wife Robin. The Kranings (both the elder and younger Kranings) were the featured conference speakers and…

  • A Christmas Party for All Ages

    Over the past several years, my wife and I have been invited to attend many of the Christmas parties hosted each year by various groups at College Avenue Baptist Church. Word got around that I was good for some cheap (free) entertainment, being a member of the church staff. And it’s true: I know dozens…