Browsing Tag

ken wytsma

Belize, Jaguar Creek, Junkyard Wisdom Book,

Transition, Purpose, and Laughter

When two dozen people go to the Belize rainforest to discuss wealth and justice, while also spending their evenings talking about seemingly insolvable issues like Middle East peace or child exploitation, it’s either going to be an amazing experience or an absolute explosion of entrenched opinions and logistical challenges.



Thankfully, no doubt in large part because of your prayer, it was an amazing experience.

The second annual Junkyard Wisdom Belize went off without any logistical challenges, thank God.

 

More importantly, the people who came had a wide range of opinions and perspectives, but a shared love for God …

Book Reviews,

Top Ten Books of 2017

To help with your gift list, here are my top ten books of 2017:

The “I need something fun to create bar arguments” goes to Tim Harford for his book Fifty Inventions That Shaped the Modern Economy. Barbed wire? The gramophone? Passports? Curious insights like these fill the book and will create conversation, controversy, and interest.

The “historical fiction that has fascinating characters and everybody is reading these days” award goes to Amor Towles for A Gentleman in Moscow. Set in the first half of the 20th Century, the story of a Russian man …

Belize, Jaguar Creek, Junkyard Wisdom Book,

Junkyard Wisdom Belize 2018

Did you miss the first Junkyard Wisdom Belize event and want a second chance? Interested in exploring the issues of my book with some amazingly bright people who will become lifelong friends? Want to spend five days with Ken Wytsma to better understand the theology of justice and how it relates to wealth, poverty, generosity, and faith?

Well, great news! The second Junkyard Wisdom Belize event is scheduled for February 15-19, 2018. We will again stay at the amazing Jaguar Creek, from which we will visit Mayan ruins, rainforest villages, and even a local chocolate producer.

If you are …

Belize, Jaguar Creek, Junkyard Wisdom Book,

Junkyard Wisdom Belize – the Recap

My goodness. Junkyard Wisdom Belize was … well, I don’t know how to put it into words! Wonderful. Amazing. Thoughtful. Deep. Fun. All of the above!

Twenty people gathered in Belize for five days to talk, think, reflect, and share. Each day, Ken Wytsma shared about the theology of wealth, the need for holy discontent, the importance of doing things right, and feasting in celebration of God. His wife Tamara led an early morning workshop about the challenges and hardships of obedience. My wife D’Aun led another early morning session on the embarrassment of wealth. Each day I weaved the …

Junkyard Wisdom Book,

Junkyard Wisdom: Belize

My friend Ken Wytsma read Junkyard Wisdom and texted, “Let’s do an event in Belize where we host 20 people for a multi-day retreat and talk about the issues in the book.”

I was struck by the idea. So many conversations around stewardship, wealth, and poverty tend to be held at fancy hotels. But there’s something odd about spending $500 a night for a hotel room so you can talk about how to serve our neighbor. Hosting an event in the rainforest, near villages where people live on just a few hundred dollars a year, seemed like an excellent counterbalance.…

Book Reviews, Junkyard Wisdom Book, So you think you're a writer?,

So What Are People Saying About Junkyard Wisdom?

I’m way too lazy to do a real book tour. But a blog tour sounds doable!

Maybe you remember the days when authors would go on book tours. They’d show up at the local bookstore to talk or read from their book, sign a few copies, and then head on to the next town. Some still do that.

But the more efficient way is to do a blog tour — a combination of interviews, reviews, conversations, even podcasts, all from the comfort of my computer screen. I get fewer frequent flyer miles, but it’s far easier!

Below are several blogs …

So you think you're a writer?,

Thankful for Book Endorsements

I’m in the midst of collecting endorsements for my book and one word keeps coming to mind.

Thankful.

I’m truly thankful for the people who have taken the time to read the draft, reflect on the content, and write a few words of support. I’m thankful my life is filled with such generous people. People who enrich my life with their ideas, their energy, their love. I am blessed, and I am thankful.

The first official endorsement came from Tony Campolo, who has always been there to support me. Then one from Bob Goff, a friend since elementary school. And …

Book Reviews,

Create vs Copy, by Ken Wytsma

Several months ago my friend Ken Wytsma asked me to comment on a book he was writing. He sent the pdf version and it surprised me to learn the topic was on creativity. Not that Ken isn’t a creative person — just the opposite actually. He’s written two books already, started the significant Justice Conference, pastored a church in Bend, and launched a new college. He’s plenty creative! But it’s rare to see a ministry leader focus on a topic that is usually the domain of social scientists or tech leaders.

The first draft of Create vs. Copy: Embrace Change.