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The Mash-Up

by Eddie Pipkin Image by Wolfgang Eckert from Pixabay I went to see the local opera company perform this week, and I had a great time.  I realize that puts me squarely in the nichiest of niches a person can inhabit, culture wise.  That’s why the opera folks are passionately invested in doing [...]

The Mash-Up2025-02-14T09:29:51-05:00

Dopamine Detox

by Eddie Pipkin Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay Chances are you are reading this blog on your smartphone.  If so, it will have come to you by email, a now old-timey communications pathway.  If you are a normal American, you will use that same smartphone for a chunk of today for scrolling.  [...]

Dopamine Detox2025-02-06T08:55:10-05:00

Accountability Buddies

by Eddie Pipkin Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay There is always that one elusive personal goal, the thing you really want to accomplish but can’t ever seem to get done.  Maybe it’s a fitness goal, maybe a writing goal, maybe a home improvement project, or if you’re a ministry professional or volunteer, [...]

Accountability Buddies2025-01-30T09:24:17-05:00

Next Move

by Eddie Pipkin Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay I was watching a basketball game last week, a spirited back-and-forth between two evenly matched teams, and my team was ahead and had victory in their grasp.  That is, until one of our players made a mind-boggling mistake, being whistled for taking longer than five [...]

Next Move2025-01-16T09:28:24-05:00

Beware Falling Rocks

by Eddie Pipkin Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay My wife and I were driving through mountainous terrain during Christmas vacation, and as we were rounding a windy corner, we saw a sign common to those parts: “Watch for Falling Rocks.”  We’ve seen that sign plenty of times, but my wife was bemused on [...]

Beware Falling Rocks2025-01-09T09:15:02-05:00

Ending Resolutions

by Eddie Pipkin Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay My wife and I did not send Christmas cards this year. We've been mailing out season's greetings with adorable family photos for three-and-a-half decades, so that's a big change. The transition from old year to new year is often a time for big change [...]

Ending Resolutions2025-01-03T08:31:26-05:00

Calamity Chronicles

by Eddie Pipkin Have you ever planned an event that went completely off the rails?  Of course you have.  We all have.  For those of us who started out in youth ministry, we have a whole shelf full of stories of plans that went dramatically awry.  We tell them in excruciating detail whenever we reunite [...]

Calamity Chronicles2024-12-18T13:48:38-05:00

Pretty-Ugly

by Eddie Pipkin Image by 1tamara2 from Pixabay I was reading about an emerging design trend for 2025 that sounded like something I could embrace: a concept called “pretty-ugly.”  It’s not about intentionally including something discomfiting as part of the décor: “This isn’t about collecting aesthetic disasters—it’s about curating pieces that raise a [...]

Pretty-Ugly2024-12-13T09:38:31-05:00

Captain Obvious

by Eddie Pipkin Like everybody else, I am susceptible to clicking on those listicle articles.  You know the ones.  It’s an article that’s structured as a list: “Five Keys to Financial Independence” or “Ten Clues That Your Boss Is Ready to Hand You a Pink Slip.”  They are the favored structural tool for organizing ideas [...]

Captain Obvious2024-12-05T09:12:41-05:00

“Chur, Bro”

Image by Geordie from Pixabay It’s always a challenge to write a seasonal blog.  That’s because you do it every year, and everybody else is doing the same thing thematically, too.  And most of y’all work in ministry, so you know what I mean, because you’re in the business of designing worship and [...]

“Chur, Bro”2024-11-26T12:49:55-05:00