Pushing Buses

Pushing Buses

My dad worked in manufacturing sales and once was asked to come bid on a system to help transport Bluebird buses from one side of a factory to another. He got there to see the system they had in place, only to find factory workers pushing the buses across a concrete...
Farmhouse Sink

Farmhouse Sink

I love home renovation shows, I really do, but if you watch a bunch of them all together, you’ll notice a disturbing pattern.  Somehow, all of the clients’ personal style happens to be exactly whatever the trend is for the moment. How was it that in the...
Sidewalks and Speed Bumps

Sidewalks and Speed Bumps

I recently had dinner with an urban planner who worked in transportation for the city government. I asked her how work was going, and she mentioned that upcoming local elections were throwing everything into a spin.  “Oh, are parts of your work impacted by the...
The Barnabas Effect

The Barnabas Effect

As a youth pastor, I took a group of high school and college students to a place called Camp Barnabas every year. Camp Barnabas is a summer camp in rural Missouri for children and adults with physical and mental disabilities. The camp functions by pairing campers with...
Getting a No

Getting a No

The first rule of volunteer recruitment is to make direct asks. You’re more likely to succeed with direct asks than a general appeal. The downside is that while direct asks do work, you have to make a lot of them. As a youth pastor, I remember going about...