Time, Treasure and Talent We all have it, we all use it and we all want more of it.  Of course I am talking about Time, Treasure and Talent.  These three words are huge in what consumes most of our lives.  We are working towards creating more time so that we can make more treasure, or developing more talent so we can spend more time doing this or whatever….you get the point.  The main point is this, our time, treasure and talent are gifts to us. How we use them is what shows what we are all about.  Let’s look at these a moment:   1)  Time – seconds, minutes, hours, days, months and years…..this is how it is measured.  Time is how we define our existences....

Each week our staff and interns meet to review, plan and discuss. We share ideas, wins and non-wins, and we try to foster an atmosphere where we are all celebrated as we journey together.We’ve talked about what it is that defines our culture, here at BridgeTown. Everyone has an opportunity to contribute elements they feel should be a mark of our organization and we thought we’d throw them out there to let you know, and ask if you see, these characteristics among us. Servant based leadershipUnity and TrustLoveAuthenticity and FamilyGraceLoyalty and the ability to wrestle things outPassion and determinationStrength and HumilityLifting others upCommunity and Honesty. Pretty lofty aspirations but not really… As I listened to various ones contributing, it...

What can I do?   This is a great question…”What Can I do?”  So many people see themselves as uncreative, as unable to bring stuff to the table of life or groups they are  a part of.  It’s like they see themselves as the person who was holding the door when the gifts and special abilities were being handed out.  Do you ever feel that way?  Do you find yourself feeling like you have nothing to offer?  This is a lie my friend.  It is a smoke screen you have bought into which paralyzes you from being all that you can be.   I hate it when I hear people say, “I am just not creative”, “I can’t do that” or a million other things we say to...

I have memories that stick out in my head from when I was growing up. These moments that stick out are typically surrounded by someone showing me intense amounts of love that made a mark on my life and had a hand in forming me as an adult. It is in these times of remembrance that I am propelled to pour out my life to create significant moments in the lives of the children and families that we serve in North Portland. This has been a great year for Bridgetownʼs Thanksgiving Basket Giveaway. We were blessed with amazing partners that both, provided baskets, and volunteered time to the event. We gave away a total of 81 baskets and got...

The Echo   On my first experience with Night Strike I had the privilege of being a “hair cutting line Bouncer”. I am a big guy and my thought was that I was stepping into the jungle of messy humanity. “I better be ready to defend myself at any moment”, I thought to myself. Boy, was I wrong.   I learned a few things that evening.   1. I learned that it doesnʼt matter if you are homeless or have a home; the character of a person is not determined by the amount of stuff you have.   I am not sure where it comes from but I used to think that being a true follower of Christ meant...