Author Archive
Greg Dill
Women of Winter: The Outcasts
Saturday, November 5th, 2011
About a month ago, I finished reading a book by one of my favorite Christian authors, Max Lucado. The title of this book is “God Came Near”, arguably his best written and perhaps most popular book. One of the chapters in this book he aptly names “Women of Winter” in which he recollects the biblical stories of several women whose lives were deeply changed by their encounter with Jesus. These were not your ordinary women, certainly not the pillars of their communities. In fact, they were shunned from society, social outcasts, untouchables. There is the Samaritan woman at the well, the woman who had a bleeding problem, and of course the harlot who poured perfume on Jesus’ feet. Three women. One rejected. One dying. One lonely. By the world’s standards these three women could give nothing in return. They’d served their purpose: borne their children, fed their families, pleased their men. Now it was time to push them out into the cold until they died, making room for the young and spotless. That’s where Jesus found them. Shivering in the icy sleet of uselessness. The raw winter of life.
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Simplicity: Relationships Work
Saturday, September 24th, 2011
Simplicity means the achievement of maximum effect with minimal means. In the digital and information age we live, things are to be more simple. And, practically speaking perhaps they are. But, in the big scheme of things it seems life has become much more complicated. When given a simple task or a project, committees are formed, multiple documents are created, and strategies are outlined. Budget plans are drafted, polls are taken, and branding packages are visualized. It seems this carries over into ministry and church too. Not to discount these things, but I wonder if we tend to over-complicate things that don’t really need complicating. Are churches and ministries any better off today than they were during the early church years? We go to conferences, read books, and learn how to become better equipped. But, what Christianity needs are less conferences on how to become better equipped and more action with what we’re already equipped with.
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Hell on Earth and the Kingdom of God
Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011
In 2008 I had the opportunity to serve the poorest of poor. There is a people group in Honduras known as, “the people of the dump” who literally live, eat, work, and sleep in the city trash dump. Inside this trash dump there exists disease, human excrement, germs; where people can be found working near mangy dogs, cows, and vultures. The smell is nauseating and the flies are numerous. Many people have called it, “Hell on earth”.
