Nat Crawford - Executive Coach, Speaker, Leader

We have a love problem, don’t we? Of course, this isn’t new. We’ve always had a love problem. We say we love someone, but then we don’t know how to express it. We say we love someone, but we choose not to express it. Or if we are honest, maybe, we just don’t love that someone. Where is this coming from? As the director of local outreach at a church, one of the questions I often ask myself is “why don’t more people show interest in Christianity?” I read a blog recently from James Emory White who partially answered this question. White said this: ‘A full 79% of unchurched Americans agreed with this statement: "If a friend of mind really values their faith, I don't mind them talking about it." [1] Did you catch it? Don’t miss the key to the point: “If a friend of mine, really values their faith .” I read that as someone who has an authentic faith. A faith that is not perfect, but real and deep. It sounds like something that comes flows out of true love. Today’s...

Do you remember “The Jerk” with Steve Martin? It has to be one of the funniest of Martin’s films. There’s a scene where he’s working at the gas station and someone begins shooting at some oil cans. He begins to panic and yells, “He hates these cans! Stay away from the cans!” In other words, he thought the cans were the problem. Not the person who was shooting the cans. Funny until it is real life. The recent events of mass shootings,  terrorist  attacks, and a divided nation, makes me sad. It is not surprising, but never-the-less sad. No one is talking. No one is listening. The media is telling people what to think and not how to think. We live in a world of tweets, headlines, and empty hearts and minds. Now, to the point: the recent shootings in Florida are tragic.  Facebook, Twitter, the news, and the government are pointing fingers. I can’t say some of the accusations are false. But they all fail to address the real problem. Here’s what I mean: Gu...

Tiff and I are coming up on 12 years of marriage. Awesome. Too many marriages today are being scrapped. This is very sad. I do not attempt to address why this is (at least not in this particular blog). I will briefly say that marriage is a covenant, not just some legal contract. Just saying. Moving on, some of you know the many battles we have fought through over our marriage: health issues, financial issues, career issues, cancer in a child, and more. No small trials. Some people are frankly we have gotten through it. Has it been easy overcoming these trials? No. One of the hardest came at just over two years of marriage. We were fighting a lot. We were tired. We were distant. To be frank, I was done. Thank the Lord - He and Tiff weren't done with me. Very thankful. During this time of growth, renewal, repentance, rekindling, and restoration I learned 3 powerful words that take an apology to the next level. In fact, as I see it, it makes it real. It's really where...

Did you know that the area between Judea and Galilee was named after its prominent city: Samaria? It was a culturally diverse city; comprised of Gentiles and Jews. Many Jews avoided traveling through the area because they hated the people.  Jesus made a point of traveling there to meet the Samaritan woman at Jacob's Well.  Also remember the story of the good Samaritan in Luke 10:30-37. Jesus told a parable of the a man Jew who was beaten and robbed. Two Jews passed him by ignoring him and his distress. Then passes a Samaritan, an "enemy." The Samaritan not only cared for his wounds, but paid for his stay at an Inn to recover and promised to pay any and all expenses incurred during his recovery.  We ought to remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:46-47 " If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?...

There is a tension in our culture today. Some are shouting “God is dead! There is no God!” While others contend that if there is a god, surely he is unworthy of any praise. He has abandoned us. Richard Dawkins states in his book The God Delusion “ The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.”  Is this assessment true? If God is a God of love, can He truly be a God of judgment?  Is Dawkins right? Was God more focused on justice in the OT and focused on grace in the NT?  And why does God seem so different between the Old Testament and the New Testament?  With the daunting task of reading you will find God’s love, mercy, and judgment in the Old Testament and God’s lo...

           Jesus Christ taught and did many things during His life. But did He teach social justice?  What do we mean by social justice?  Social justice is giving each person what is rightfully theirs.  Most people would put say “It is helping those in need get the things they need.” Social justice is a hot topic both in the political and Christian realms.  Depending on who is talking, you may hear the terms redistribution of wealth, socialism, entitlement and communism.  I will not attempt to deal with whether food, clothing, shelter and healthcare are entitlements or whether or not it is the government’s role to fulfill these shortfalls. I will focus on the teachings of Christ in regards to the poor, the sick and taxes. In the synoptic gospels, there are over ten recurring records of teaching on the poor and over twenty on healing. The book of John contains similar passages. Clearly, Jesus had an opinion on ...