Hillcity pastor

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Back to basics

Basics are always important. No matter what arena of life you’re in, they lay the foundation for everything everything that you’re going to try and accomplish moving forward. Every soldier starts in basic training. Chefs all learn how to set an oven temp and melt butter in a pan. You have to know your letters before you can learn to read, write and spell. No matter what you’re doing, learning the basics is the proper place to start.  Christianity is…

My mask

It wasn’t even that good of a movie. Sure it made Jim Carrey more famous than he already was, but it was too unrealistic in my opinion. That green mask and all the weird cartoonish animation. It just made it seem completely unbelievable. Although perhaps that was the point? The overarching idea that masks are not reality, and they portray something fake and misguided. Maybe they were geniuses all along, and I am just now figuring it out.  Unfortunately, while…

Community comes calling

I used to watch this show called “How I met your mother.” It was pretty funny honestly. The finale was kind of a bummer if I’m being honest, but otherwise I thought it was worth setting the DVR for every week. The show was FULL of running jokes that would pop up throughout the seasons, calling back to previous episodes and situations, reminding viewers of something hilarious that had happened, and that this was one of their favorite shows for…

A better kind of book

I don’t like to read books. There, I said it. I’m not exactly sure what it is about them that turns me away, but I just can’t seem to bring myself to pick up the habit.  My ENTIRE family seems to love them. My dad reads books like people eat meals. My grandfather was the editor-in-chief of a highly successful and well-known local newspaper, so we know that guy loved him some reading too. My uncle, collects old books just…

The day I gave myself away

June 17th, 2006 was a Saturday. I don’t remember the exact temperature, but I know it was hot. The uncomfortable kind of hot, because it was sticky like a sucker one of my kids left on the backseat of my car for me to find later. Anyway, that was day I gave my life away. I stood in front of my dearest friends and family, and promised to give Emily Ann Wenzel the best (and worst I guess) of me,…

Freedom, fireworks, and following Jesus

I got in some trouble last night - celebrating my freedom. There’s been a tradition at our house since the year we moved in, we invite friends over for the fourth of July and have a grill out and shoot off some fireworks. Seems like that’s what it means to be an American, right? I thought so too. Or perhaps I even still think so.  Only once (until last night) has this annual occasion proved dangerous, as a firework shot…

Disciplined disciples

I read the Bible almost every single day. At least five out of seven days, and usually it’s more like seven days a week. It’s a fun thing to say, and it sounds good coming out of my mouth - but the truth is, I am kind of a cheater. My job requires me to be in God’s Word; reading it, interpreting it, discerning what it teaches, and relaying that information to a world that is in desperate need of…

Intentional Church

Hudson Wisconsin didn’t need another church. There were already 15 of them in April of 2013 - and many of them were functioning well and growing. But what Hudson was looking for, perhaps even asking for - was our church. Let me explain a little bit more… I grew up in Hudson. Some people would call me a lifer. A guy I went to high school with recently called us “townies.” I guess I would just say I never left.…

Empty tomb, Resurrection, Jesus is alive, Easter, Sunday Morning
silence, weeping, death, sadness, Holy Saturday, the end of hope

Saturday – The world will never be the same – Pt. 1 (He is dead)

He is dead. There is nothing in this world that is as sudden AND permanent as death. Many things happen quickly. There is also an abundance of things that are permanent. But the combination of the two is especially brutal. Death packs the two punch. It kicks you in the gut, removes all hope from your heart, messes with your mind - all while seemingly sucking the life right out of your soul. It drags you down, and you do…