The title of this post is a short phrase I used as a “tagline” for this blog for several years. It was a subtle reminder to myself and to any reader that the goal of my writing was not to provide the final or last word on any particular subject, but to instead spark further reflection and conversation for myself and the reader.
I still believe that this is what defines great teaching. It’s an experience that we have, but also an invitation to something more.
I hope and pray is that this is how I live my life, how I teach others, and how I write. And yet 11 years into my work as a pastor and almost seven years into writing for this blog has revealed to me how difficult it is to teach and live in that way.
It’s much easier to share something good than it is to share something great.
What do I mean by good?
Good is when you share a thought that people find meaningful. It lifts them up or makes them feel better about the particular place or season they find themselves in right now. And good is just that… It’s good. It’s needed. It’s necessary.
But again great is something wholly different…
Because great is about movement, it’s about the next step, the future horizon. It’s about beginning a journey to somewhere you have not visited before. This means that the first experience of “great” often isn’t calm, but chaos. It unsettles us. It disrupts us. It creates tension; the kind of tension that is necessary for a new thought can occur, a new understanding to take shape, and a new way of living to take root within us.
What I’m learning is that I sometimes settle for good instead of patiently and persistently chasing after what might be great. Perhaps you catch yourself doing the same.
It’s an unsettling thought, but sometimes that kind of disruption is the first step towards positive and profound change.
I hope that’s what it is for me.
Is God teaching you something great in your life right now?
If so, in what way has God “unsettled” you?






