Wholehearted, Hell or High Water, Attendees!

by Tyler Dirks

Once upon a time God hosted a huge party. A lot of ‘important & impressive’ people were invited, but none of them came to the party. Some of the ‘important & impressive’ people declined to attend because they were preoccupied with renovating and decorating their houses. Others didn’t show up because they were busy with […]

God’s Value System (Psalm 119)

by Tyler Dirks

Do me a favor and read Psalm 119. As you read through this Alef to Tav 176 verse poem, underline or highlight the words “love” “meditate” “whole heart” “consumed with longing” “law” “precepts” “rules” and “testimonies”. If you do this, approx 1/2 a dozen pages in the middle of your Bible will be almost fully […]

God’s Value System (Underlying Ambitions)

by Tyler Dirks

When Jesus confronts His friends about their argument regarding which one of them was ‘the greatest’ (Mark 9), He is forcing them to see that their underlying ambitions are all about compensating for their deep sense of inadequacy. As the prophet Samuel said to King Saul, “You are little in your own eyes” (1 Samuel […]

God’s Value System (Appearances)

by Tyler Dirks

Everyone has values. And our values are conspicuous. Our values are apparent in our spending, our attentiveness, our habits, our vigilance, and our concern regarding appearances. For instance, if you shadowed me for 5 days, you’d see that I value my iPhone, YouTube, rock climbing, running, audiobooks, “me time”, tidiness, doodling, and people’s perceptions. A […]

God’s Value System [Mark chapter 1]

by Tyler Dirks

We hear words like “marvelous” and “greatness” and “excellent” and “holy,” and we presume to know the definitions and chief manifestations of these words. For example, in 2 Samuel 7 king David presumes that God wants a more “impressive” and “stable” dwelling place on earth, but God says, “Hold up! I actually prefer living in […]

Blame & Responsibility

by Tyler Dirks

My buddy David has a stressful job. He is the leader of a hyper-dysfunctional non-profit organization. A major dimension of the dysfunction has to do with the fact that David’s predecessor was fired, but the predecessor refuses to step down. Moreover, the predecessor is extremely upset about David being named the successor, and subsequently David […]

The True Measure of Greatness

by Tyler Dirks

Once upon a time some leaders were squabbling about “greatness.” These guys felt tremendous pressure to settle the question of “greatness” because they had been appointed to leadership positions by God Himself! However, these men were not what you and I would consider to be “leadership material.” They were in fact bad leaders! But these […]

Superficiality V. Substance

by Tyler Dirks

We oftentimes find ourselves swimming in superficiality. Sometimes superficiality feels nice. It’s light, it’s casual, it’s predictable, and it offers a dose of ephemeral pleasure. But ultimately it erodes confidence, and it amplifies our anxiety. Simply put, inch-deep interactions with fellow image-bearers won’t cut it. We often opt for superficiality because we aren’t comfortable with […]