Radically Happy

  • Joshua 2: The Whore of Jericho

    Questions: Who is Rahab? Why is she a harlot? How come she was so ready to help the spies? What is God trying to teach Joshua? Where should I be looking for those God has placed to help me fulfill my purpose? Read more to pursue answers in Joshua 2

  • Joshua 1: Dying to Lead

    Questions: What must it have felt like to be Joshua? How can we lead men to fight the very shame that destroyed their fathers? Is having God with you the secret to being strong and courageous? Read more to pursue answers in Joshua 1

  • A Few Words With The Old Man

    We walk along the shore to our favorite fishing spot.  I walk on the sand. He walks on the water…

  • The Preschool Gospel, Take One

    Yesterday my precocious 4-year-old said he wanted to be baptized.  I don’t think he’s ready yet; our church doesn’t baptize kids until they are at least seven. But, how would I know if he was ready? What is the minimum someone needs to truly understand in order to authentically embark…

  • North Point’s Basic Truth Curriculum for Kids

    At Catalyst One Day, Pastor Andy Stanley explained how North Point Community Church‘s Sunday School curriculum focused on hammering home a small set of basic truths at each stage of life.   Surprisingly, perhaps due to the decentralized nature of North Point’s ministries, I couldn’t find them written down in…

  • Christian Elementary Schools in the South Bay – 2013 Open Houses

    My son Rohan is now “4 and 3/5ths” and will be graduating from Hearts and Hands Christian Preschool in the fall.  We are wrestling with which school he should attend next.  The primary criteria are: Christian formation Academic challenge Convenient location This appears to be Open House season, so I…

  • Partially Excerpted Conversation: Levels of Emergence

    This is an expanded excerpt from the emergence discussion from the Partially Examined Life Citizen Commons.  We studied the classic More is Different: Broken Symmetry and the Hierarchical Nature of Science by P.W. Anderson.  Their discussion software butchered my reply, so I figured I should clean it up by reposting it…

  • The Virtue and Emotion Pride

    One of the most controversial aspects of Knight Club is that it treats pride (“By Myself”) like anger (“Not Fair”): an emotion which is prone to sin, but is not necessarily a sin — and can even be a virtue. While it is true that the vast majority of Bible…

  • Becoming a Whole Christian

    I want to be a Whole Christian. I want to love the Lord my God with all my heart, all my soul, all my mind, and all my strength, and be part of a worshipping community with others who do. I want to love my brothers and sisters the way…

  • An Ode to My Personal Trainer

    For Steve Hernandez. One day after the first workout: I hate you. You make me do things I don’t want to do. My muscles ache.  My joints creak.  My steps are slow. I feel ten years older. One month after the first workout: I feel ten years younger. My muscles are stronger.…

  • Superhero Workout

    Here is the SUPERHERO WORKOUT we did for the last few Knight’s Club meetings. THOR- Arm Circles FLASH- Run in place SUPERMAN- Super Jumps SPIDERMAN- Spider Walks WOLVERINE- Scissor Jump Claws HULK- Wall Smash IRON MAN BLASTS- Side Lunge and Punch CAPTAIN AMERICA- Duck, Step, Dodge INVISIBLE TORCH- Side Jumps

  • Meet the Dragons of Knight Club

    The great challenge of manhood is learning to harness our emotions to serve a good purpose. As I mentioned earlier, I believe we need to harness (not slay) these Four Dragons of Manhood: Desire, Fear, Anger & Pride.  Here’s a more comprehensive summary of my current understanding: Dragons Color Green Yellow…

  • “Who is God and What Does He Want?” Preschool Theology, Book I

    My goal for this summer is to turn my 36-week Bible study “Growing Church Leaders” into a three-volume series of picture books for my preschoolers.  Here’s my first cut at text for the first one, “Think Biblically”, written one tweet at a time:

  • Knight Club #1: 4 PM, Sat June 16 at Newhall Park, San Jose

    Calling all Fathers and Sons: Rohan and Davey invite you to join us in a couple weeks for “Knight Club” – a time of physical and spiritual exercise for boys and dads* 4 PM to 5:30 PM Saturday, June 16th Newhall Park, San Jose (the corner of Newhall Street and Campbell Avenue)…

  • The Knight’s Chant: The Promise of Holiness

    I AM A KNIGHT (fist straight up in the air) KNIGHTS DO WHAT’S RIGHT (pound fist in hand) I KNOW WHAT’S RIGHT (salute) I WANT WHAT’S RIGHT (fist over heart) I CAN DO WHAT’S RIGHT (fist forward) WE ARE STRONG (make muscles) WE USE OUR STRENGTH (hands on waist) TO…

  • Knight Club: How to Ride a Dragon

    Yesterday I gave my son Rohan (age 3 and 5/6ths) a set of colored dragons and attempted to explain my four-dimensional system for emotional maturity.  He grasped the basic idea quite quickly, though I had to modify some of the terms (e.g., “Obedience” instead of “Humility”). Dragon Spurs Reins Fear…

  • Knight Club: Moral Authority and the Fourth Dragon

    One of the ways I tackle “wicked problems” is by exploring different possible answers in order to help clarify the essential question. My posts on flying and mastering the dragons of manhood have been useful in helping me recognize that the two main questions Knight Club is trying to answer are:…

  • Knight Club: Flying the Dragons of Anger, Fear, & Desire

    In my previous post, on mastering the three dragons of manhood, I discussed the ideal masculine character as harnessing the: Red Dragon of Anger Green Dragon of Fear Gold Dragon of Desire In this post, I want to explore using anger to go fast, fear to go straight, and desire to…

  • Knight Club: Mastering the Three Dragons of Manhood

    In Sheila Walsh’s Will, God’s Mighty Warrior, there’s a scene where Will and his buddy Josh are pretending to be on a quest against monstrous beasts. They run into Will’s large English sheepdog. Josh is starting to defend himself, but Will assures his friend that “I have tamed this wild creature,…

  • Knight Club: The Vicious Virtues

    I often feel I owe my success more to my “vices” than to my “virtues.” What is a virtue? What is a vice? Impatience Anger Rebelliousness Restlessness Infatuation Daydreaming Desire Goofing Off Subversive Activity Laziness Quitting Boredom Fighting Delusions of Grandeur Society — especially school, but the church is arguably worse…