We are doing this for charity…I consider myself a great philaderer…and I know at the end of the day I can look in the mirror and say, “Michael, tonight because of you some little kid in the Congo has a belly full of rice this evening.” Plus, it’s tax deductible. ~ Michael

I read that book, Who Moved My Cheese?, which is a great business book, but I actually bought it because I thought it was a suspense thriller. ~ Michael

This last Dundie is for Kevin. It’s the “Don’t Go in There After Me” Award. It’s for the time I went into the bathroom after Kevin… and it smelled really bad. ~ Michael

The church is the greatest preserver of the status quo in human history… I can conclude that the church, in its present state, is not the hope of the world. I believe that nothing has so persistently and effectively blocked the way of salvation as the church.”
~ Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

King first wrote this in the early 50’s and now over 50 years later I wonder how much has really changed… has the church really moved very far forward, or are we stuck in the same rut? Honestly, I think we’ve traded one set of problems for another as we continually walk in this static, circular existence.

One of the things that is hard about being in a healthy, growing, and absolutely amazing church, you tend to lose some of the perspective regarding the struggles of the church-at-large within America. In fact, if you are in a church that is growing and people are enthusiastic and excited about what God is doing in your midst you should consider yourself lucky (I know I certainly do), for this isn’t the norm… we are a part of the exception.

There is a growing population within the church-at-large that is increasingly growing dissatisfied with “church-as-we-know-it” and are walking away, trading old institutions for new forms and practices of “being the church”. Unfortunately it doesn’t just end with a growing sense of dissatisfaction, according to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, nearly 25% of adults have not just walked away from the church, but have traded their faith for a different religion. People are leaving the church and Jesus in their wake.

So, the question remains… is the church really all that different from 50 years ago or are we simply trading problems as we remain in our cycle of sameness? Is there a way out of the cycle, and what does that look like? Because as King so poignantly observes: to do nothing will persistently and effectively block the way of salvation.

I never smile if I can help it. Showing your teeth is a submission signal in primates. When someone smiles at me, all I see is a chimpanzee begging for its life. ~ Dwight

Why does everything I think about women turn out to be the opposite of what is going on? Is that why they call them “the opposite sex?”~ Michael 

There’s no such thing as an inappropriate joke…that’s why they’re jokes~ Michael  

Part of being a boss is recognizing talent—including your own.~ Michael  

So tell me, is your marriage the kind of thing where when you die she has to throw herself on a fire?”~Michael, to Kelly’s father   

Retaliation. Tit for tit.
~ Dwight 

If I could menstruate, I wouldn’t have to deal with idiotic calendars anymore. I’d be able to just countdown from my previous cycle. Women don’t know how easy they’ve got it.~ Dwight 

Would I rather be feared or loved? Easy. Both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me.~ Michael