CategoriesCompanioning Others, The Art of Dialogue, VP3 happenings by

Better Together

Flying into the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia is special. Dropping down from 30,000 feet over the mountains, the landscape opening up below is a surprise the first time. There are limited options for an approach. I’ve always landed from the north. It’s a bit like threading a geographical needle between small mountains; Okanagan Lake off to the right. So much beauty. And possibility. And lots of VP3 friends.

 

My first VantagePoint3 work assignment on the road was to Kelowna in February 2013. Randy Reese wanted me to meet friends of our ministry. My task was also to celebrate and honor The Journey process alumni in the area. 

 

The VP3 2026 Gathering at Green Bay Camp, October 5-7 on Okanagan Lake, is an opportunity to again convene our many friends in the area and to express VP3’s deep desire to both learn and encourage a more relational way of life and ministry with God and others. 

 

“It is in close relationships with others where we begin to see how Christ is actually, specifically, beautifully active in the fabric of our everyday lives.”

A Mentoring Guide: Christ. Conversation. Companionship. 

Read More

CategoriesCompanioning Others, Encouraging, Spiritual Conversation by

Church for the City

We recently celebrated an event on Whidbey Island called Church for the City.   Perhaps as many as 16 churches gathered on the Oak Harbor waterfront at Windjammer Park. It had something of the feel of an Old Testament sacred assembly: elders and neighbors gathering the people to worship, sing, serve, and remember God’s movement in the life of their community. More than a thousand of us came for worship,  a day of service to our city, and a shared communion service. And, by the way, I got a T-shirt.

Our day called to mind Jeremiah’s letter to the exiles in Babylon:

“But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare” (Jeremiah 29:7).

The word translated welfare is the Hebrew word shalom – peace, wholeness, well-being, thriving, and resilience. The repetition matters: seek the city’s shalom, because in its shalom you will find your shalom. This was not a letter to people who had freely relocated after looking up housing options on Redfin. They had been carried into exile after defeat by a mighty military empire. Jeremiah’s instructions were not merely surprising; they must have been terribly upsetting. Read More

CategoriesCompanioning Others, Spiritual Conversation by

Little Walker’s trip to the boardwalk

A story

Little Walker’s favorite place in the world is the boardwalk in Ocean City, New Jersey. If you have ever been to this boardwalk in the summer, you know the extent of the crowds of people – it is exhilarating. For five-year-old Little Walker, with amusement rides and snacks and so many people, a night spent on the boardwalk was his most favorite thing to do. All day long, he told everyone he encountered, “I am going to the boardwalk tonight!” So when dinner was done, and the dishes were all washed and dried, he headed up to “the boards” with his parents and little sister, his aunt and uncle. Little Walker could barely contain himself as he entered the scene: Ferris wheels and boogie boards and flashing billboards, skateboards and strollers, Steel’s fudge and Mack & Manco’s pizza and Shriver’s saltwater taffy, the sounds of the Atlantic Ocean in the background, and wave upon wave upon wave of people. Absolutely wonderful!

But when he smelled that smell–hot caramel popcorn!–and spotted the Johnson Caramel Popcorn shop (his dad’s favorite place on the boardwalk), and excitedly looked back for his dad, but could not find him or anyone else in his family, the whole scene turned on Little Walker. The lights, the noises, the smells, and the faces all began to press in upon him and terrify him. The excitement was gone. Little Walker was lost.  Read More