Category: Uncategorized

  • Sabbatical

    Three months is a long time. I’ve not had the energy to write even though my list of topics has continued to snowball. I want to get back in the saddle and write. What caused my energy draw? Mostly, a difficult legal dispute with someone I thought was my friend. I dealt with feelings of…

  • False Dichotomy

    Can you be preserving if you aren’t sharing? Can you be sharing if you aren’t preserving? I’ve heard it said that preserving sound doctrine and sharing the gospel are two roles of the Church. It is implied that some people are ‘good at’ one of these, some are ‘good at’ the other, and that’s why…

  • Does Jesus focus more on Production or Consumption?

    Admittedly, I always thought He cared much more about my consumption, and, being a rich American was almost a curse–so many temptations to consume while other parts of the world struggled. Shame ensues, then inaction, then a demotivation to produce. That doesn’t sound like a useful spiral to me!! Hmm, obviously I’m writing this to…

  • Adultery

    I’ve been troubled recently by this topic, and have been giving it some thought. I’ve been troubled before, but then other topics seem more pressing. Also, I do not like to share my opinions if I haven’t thought it through. The Church is to be the beacon of hope, to show the world the values…

  • Goals for All

    As we start 2026, goals abound. Sales goals, weight goals, character goals, and more. I’ve been studying accountability and goal-reaching in a number of contexts and I’m going to provide some ideas I’ve been developing. I’ve seen the power of goal+accountability=major motivation. The challenge is often that all parties don’t stay motivated. How to motivate…

  • The Endress Family Creed

    As a result of the Bible Translations presentation at church and the stunning realization that neither our local church nor the church denomination is going to establish where we are going and how we’ll know when we’ve arrived, I’ve been thinking about establishing an Endress Family Creed. First, I respect our leadership’s honesty and openness…

  • Bible Translations

    As promised, my update to this post. The church presentation on Bible Versions / Translations was very good…and there’s no argument around the veracity of various translations. There’s also no credible critique of the veracity of the KJV. So, picking apart translations is a zero sum game on its face–let’s say a new believer on…

  • What do leaders do?

    Three things: You may think this is kind of an odd assortment, like, why these three? Admittedly, two of them came from a mentor of mine, and I thought the vision one is indispensable. I suggest that you identify a place in need of a leader, and then see if you can imagine the outcome…

  • Contrary to sound doctrine

    Recently, a single phrase from 1 Timothy 1 caught my attention. I’ll copy the passage below so you have some context: 1Ti 1:1  Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope; 1Ti 1:2  Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy,…

  • Birthright

    This past Sunday we read about the births of Esau and Jacob and the subsequent selling of the birthright. I had a light bulb moment – God probably wonders when I’m ever going to figure the most basic things out! Thankfully, He illuminates my thinking little by little. I started thinking about this question right…