Reinventing the Wheel
Twenty-two years ago, alongside Rod Hugen and a few other dedicated individuals, I helped establish the Village Church within the humble setting of a Messianic Jewish congregation's building. Right from the start, I was passionate about the idea of reinvention. My firm belief was that community and creativity flourish when we approach things with a fresh perspective, akin to reinventing the wheel. For the Village, this translated into creating…
The Paralytic Man
The Paralytic Man Mark 9:1-8 Encounters with Jesus series (#1) 1-2-22 Rod Hugen A friend of his who is a prayer warrior named Harriet contracted COVID and passed away. Her ongoing wish was that Rod would get a haircut and in her honor, he did! Let’s pray: Help us be like Harriet in that we bring others life through you. As I open your word and see your beauty,…
A tribute to a teacher…
He wasn’t my favorite teacher. He was intimidating and a tough grader. For a teenager with the kind of learning disabilities that make it difficult to get assignments done, he was more an arch nemesis than a friend. I was also rather lazy and preferred basketball to conjugating verbs. I’d heard crazy stories about him from my older sister. She told of how he prowled the aisles between the…
I Do . . .
I Do . . . a lot of things I do a lot of things at the Village including preaching, cooking, counseling, encouraging, and leading and I have noticed a few things when it comes to compliments. The first thing I notice is how slightly uncomfortable they make me and yet how much I enjoy hearing them. A compliment is a part of our being thankful and we compliment…
When sobs come…
I laughed in the limousine on the way to Dad’s funeral. Uncle Paul was sitting up front with the driver and Uncle Paul had apparently never ridden in a limousine before. He peppered the poor driver with all sorts of questions that the driver was loathe to answer. He wanted to know how fast she’d go, and if it was hard to corner, and what size engine it had.…
The miracle of the Prayer Tub
The prayer tub wasn’t working. It was a couple weeks ago and it just quit. The lovely Mrs. Hugen went out one morning to relax in it only to discover ice cold water and no electrical power to the spa. The Encouraging Discipling Communities conference was fast approaching and I wasn’t able to any longer sit in the spa in the middle of the night and pray because it…
Around The Bend
At Vespers one evening Sue prayed at the beginning and mentioned something about God being around the bend and it stuck in my brain. Here is the poem that leaked out... Around The Bend Rodney J. Hugen Just around the bend, only a half turn away, legions of winged ones, mighty warriors all, are poised, hovering, ever attentive, eyes searching, a gesture here, a glance there, readying with bated…