Life Attempt - The Kindle Preview

I have uploaded a fully edited six chapter sample of "Life Attempt" onto Amazon.com for download into the Kindle. The cost is $1... but if you download that and send me an email I will send you the rest of the pre-published book for free via email.

Book Summary:

On August 10th, 1971, a doped-up studio drummer took a hostage and led Los Angeles police through hours of danger and emotionally charged drama. During the initial emergency phone conversation, LAPD Sgt. Gary Barrett established a unique rapport with the suspect. The sergeant was eventually sent to the scene to begin volatile hostage release negotiations. The suspect was ready to kill. With a makeshift SWAT team and 25 heavily armed officers surrounding the studio, a fascinating relationship between two very different men began.

This true story, with all its real life violence, geopolitical commentary, and relevant spirituality – will stay with you forever.

Bullfighting - Part One

While in Guadalajara last month on business, I watched a bullfight on live TV. It was a brutal thing to witness. It was also spectacular and memorable. It caused me to think deeply about life and fighting.

The bulls are raised to be killed. And truthfully, there is some much deserved controversy about that fact, not to mention the brutality of the event. Regardless, this has gone on for centuries... it is what it is. The bull is taught to fight, raised to fight, and honored during the spectacle of its regal death.

A part of me loved it. Of all the animals that humans kill on a daily basis, this one has a chance to kill the human. And that happens occasionally. The chicken we eat, the hamburgers we consume, they don't come from an animal that had a chance. They all just get slaughtered. So it was nice to see an animal with a fighting chance.

One is a hundred bulls actually live. If that bull fights with outstanding toughness and cunning, the judge will blow a horn, make the matador stop, the crowd goes wild, and the bull is nursed back to health and restored to life. And the best part? The bull is sent to a pen with bunch of lovely cows to breed for the rest of its life. The male offspring used for bullfighting.

I see so many life correlations here that I need to stop and think of how to write about it.

Winter Tow Surfing Adventure

Towed yesterday with my close friend Jeremy Rasmussen. We towed for a few hours into 8 - 10 foot surf at Canyons. Everything was easy and good until I somehow flipped the ski on a failed pickup. I ended up underneath the ski, completely under water, with the life jacket wrapped around my neck and unable to surface. Then, I think the ski got hit by another wave and that cleared a path for me to surface. But the life jacket was torn off, the lanyard that restarts the ski was gone, and everyone was on the beach laughing their heads off.

Sorry Jeremy. I'll get it right eventually!

Oregon Stand-up Paddle Boarding

My wife was quoted in this Oregon Coast Today article on the emerging sport of Stand-up Paddle Boarding. Donna and I have paddled the Ocean (on calm days), up deserted rivers, and across shallow tidewater bays. The scenery is surreal but the excercize us very, very real.

The article starts on Page 12 .

A Definition of Wealth

The work day was nearly done. My 19 year old son, Joel, stopped by the house and busted through the front door with enough energy to light the neighborhood.
"Dad, let's go surfing. Its goin' off," the universal surf phrase meaning the surf is really good. And it was.



So we did. We surfed for almost three hours. Snagging waves, riding them through 3 - 5 - or maybe 8 turns if we were lucky. As one of us was paddling back out, the other was riding one in. We shared the glassy head high waves with only one other surfer right out in front of the house.

I couldn't escape the deep sense of wealth, a notion I had during the entire session. It is the ancient Hebrews, I think, and other ancient cultures, who defined wealth as not what you possess but rather whom you have around you. The ancient world defined wealth in the number of healthy family members, extended family, farms and cattle, and relational connections with influencial and healthy people. It was never about stuff. It was never about the size of my 401k or the the number of homes I own or how fat my eTrade account is. It was always the extended network of who a person was connected to.... who they are "with".

Tomorrow I will feel sore and creaky from the paddling. Today I feel wealthy. I am wealthy.

Neue Quarterly Article - The Hero Culture

Here's a link to a recent story I wrote for Neue Quarterly. The article is called "The Hero Culture" and draws parallels between the drivenness and narcisism found within extreme sports and the similar dynamics that often creep into Christian leadership. For me, there is much joy in doing good things for hurting people from behind the scenes... things nobody else really knows about.

Neue Quarterly is a leadership journal put out by Relevant Media Group.

Christianity Today - Radical Faith

The Feb issue of Christianity Today hit the shelves last week. I wrote a story on My Search for Radical Faith that landed on page 36. If you took the time to read it, I'd love to hear from you. If so, what made the biggest impact on you?

Of all the articles I've written, the process behind writing this one effected me the most - so far anyway. I had originally written this at the request of Relevant Magazine. But after I submitted the first draft to the editorial staff, without much explanation, they asked me to change the direction. But that direction - and the surprise ending - was something I could never change because it had so deeply effected me.

In a twist, a fellow Judson University alum, Ed Gilbreath at Urban Ministries in Chicago, referred the story to a CT editor who really loved it.

Here is a link to the web version. I'd say "enjoy the read", but if you genuinely read the story, joy is probably not the first emotion that you'll have. So... umm... more peace on you then.