Greg Stories
A collection of Greg's written stories and teachings
for learning, leadership, and personal growth.
Bridges Over Troubled Waters
Just one sentence. No dramatic moment. No guarantee she wouldn’t be punished for mentioning the one weakness he couldn’t command or conquer.
Before Elisha ever heard Naaman’s name, before a king sent a letter, before a river in Israel stirred with healing, there was a slave girl, standing in the shadows of an army commander's house, and gently beginning to build a bridge over Naaman’s troubled waters. 2 Kings 5:1-3
BUILDING BRIDGES WHILE WAITING
What if God has already started building bridges in the world around you, and He’s waiting for you to finish them?
Maybe the conversations you’ve been having aren’t random. Maybe that co-worker who keeps opening up, or the friend who asks deep questions, is actually standing at the edge of a bridge God’s been building all along.
You don’t have to force it. You don’t have to have all the answers. Just start where they are, like Paul did. Listen. Notice. Find the fingerprints of God in the culture around you and trace them back to Him.
Because the same God who reached into Athens is still reaching into your world. Acts 17
I Put My Dog Down and LEARNED SOMETHING
A leadership lesson on how perspective drives reactions. I signed the forms for death by injection and communal cremation. I handed the leash to the vet assistant and walked out the front door of the clinic—knowing I would never see Tuco again. No ashes. No collar. No box. I picked him up at eight weeks old and had to put him down at nine and a half years old. And it did not bother me… at all. No flood of emotion. No sadness. Nothing.
USE YOUR VOICE TO ENCOURAGE
That was one of many times I've been reminded—people can be so dumb! Why is it that when we show someone a new thing we’ve saved up for, or tell them about a new venture we’re starting, the very first words out of their mouth are negative or passively discouraging? We’ve all been on the receiving end…and if we’re honest, we’ve probably done it too. Let’s take a quick look at what I believe is the main reason people tend to discourage rather than encourage. And then explore how we can implement Biblical Encouragement.
USE YOUR VOICE TO CHALLENGE
How did two middle-aged women from the Midwest end up on the side of an Ecuadorian volcano, pushing themselves to their hardest physical accomplishment and setting personal records? Their story reminds us that we’ve walked with God in places others haven’t yet dared to go. Use your voice. Challenge others to come with you as you adventure with God. And who knows—maybe your courage will be the spark that nudges them to take a step of faith they’ve been holding back on.
USE YOUR VOICE FOR PRAYER
Do you have a hard time praying for people you don’t know? Me too. Why should we still pray? This teaching article explores the biblical call to intercede for the suffering, showing how prayer is solidarity, fuels action, and joins us with Christ in carrying the world’s pain before God.
STUPID HATE
Stupid Hate confuses the infection with the one suffering from it. Stupid Hate is like an autoimmune disease that attacks the body and not the infection. God actually expects His people to have some wise hate. Wise hate protects. The challenge for us is that Proverbs doesn’t give us a list of people God despises; it provides us with a list of behaviors that destroy community. Proverbs 6:16-19
STUPID ISOLATION
Isolation is stupid, and we now know Proverbs will help us fix stupid. Have you quietly quit community while still showing up to the crowd? Wisdom invites you back into community—back to shared responsibilities, honest counsel, mutual burden-bearing, and real connection. Proverbs 18:1 doesn’t just expose the foolishness of pulling away. It points us toward the kind of wisdom that can only be found when we stay connected.
Losing Mike Too Soon
Mike didn’t measure life from birth to death. He measured it from conception to eternity. That’s why, even as his days here ended sooner than any of us wanted, he carried himself with strength and faith.
In Romans 8, Paul reminded Mike and reminds us that what we see now isn’t the whole story. He calls our present life “groaning.” Creation groans. Our bodies groan. Everything feels incomplete, waiting. It is the ache of time pressing in on us. But the Spirit whispers a bigger truth: this isn’t the end of the line.
Full Speed Into Stupid
WE can see THEIR bad choice coming from a mile away: Maybe we can see the first sentence of the text they are writing: They’re about to pour gasoline on an already burning argument. Or maybe, they ask us to cosign on an apartment for them because they don’t have the income history to match the rent. The hundreds of us will see hundreds upon hundreds of people we know running full speed into stupid. Over the next few months, we'll run into someone we know. Wearing busyness like it is a badge of honor, … people and priorities that matter most get the scraps. Spending each day ANGRY at the latest news —Living fueled by our current outrage culture - where they are expected to have an emotional response to every clickbait issue of the week’s news cycle. HERE’S THE BIG QUESTION FOR US - WHEN WE SEE SOMEONE RUNNING TOWARDS A CLIFF—WHICH THEY SEE AS A FINISH LINE—ARE WE GOING TO TRY TO STOP THEM?
When Stupid Comes Back Around
Ever made a stupid decision and then blamed God for the fallout? This teaching from Proverbs 19:3 and Isaiah 8:21 explores why we crash our own lives, curse the consequences, and how grace still meets us in the wreckage with God's wisdom.
The Sound of Stupid
Belching opinions, venting emotions, and gaslighting ourselves with spiritual spin. Proverbs doesn’t just call this behavior unwise—it calls it foolish. Through real-life snapshots, biblical insight, and a little humor, we break down how to recognize the sounds of stupid in our own speech and replace them with the wisdom of those who listen first, speak carefully, and walk with clarity.
Too Stupid To Listen
But let me tell you something, folks—you can’t fix stupid. There’s not a pill you can take. There’s not a class you can go to. Stupid is fo-evuh.” —Ron White
He is wrong! You Can Fix Stupid. That’s what this teaching series is all about.
Let’s Go!
Craving connection in a disconnected world? Isolated in your walk with Jesus? The Psalms of Ascent (120–134) reveal that God never meant for you to walk alone. Discover how real, gritty community is where worship becomes warfare, God surrounds His people with strength, and unity becomes the ground where life multiplies.
Life is more than a countdown
Ever feel like time is slipping through your fingers? Like you’re always behind, never enough, always rushing? Psalm 90 speaks right into that chaos. This teaching unpacks Moses’ ancient prayer about the brevity of life, the wisdom found inside our limits, and how to shift from pressure and panic to peace and purpose.
But God, They Don’t Even Like You!
Why do the jerks keep winning? Why can they crush people and still get applause? Ever felt the slow burn of comparison or wondered if being faithful is even worth it? Psalm 73 meets us right there. This teaching dives into Asaph’s raw honesty, his unraveling faith, and the clarity he found in worship— the kind we can find too.
Remember When…?
“Remember when…?” Some stories make us smile. Others remind us how far God has brought us. In Psalms 68 and 71:16–19, we’re challenged to remember, retell, and live stories of God’s faithfulness—stories the next generation will talk about. What story are you living now? Will it be worth retelling?
Dust and Dignity
Feeling like you're falling short no matter how hard you try? Wondering if your life actually matters in the grand scheme of things? Psalm 8 answers with a resounding yes. This teaching explores how ancient lyrics speak directly to our modern questions about identity, meaning, and hope—right where life feels most real.
Evil’s Loss
A loving and all-powerful God can’t exist with so much evil in the world—right? It’s an all too common objection to belief in God, and for many, it’s a barrier too high to overcome. But what if the presence of evil isn’t the end of the conversation… but the beginning of hope? Let's take an unflinching look at suffering, injustice, and the cross. John 20, Genesis 1-11, The Problem of Evil.
What Max Andrews Taught Me: A Funeral Homily
He knew life in this fallen world was complicated. But when he and I would talk about this passage, what lit that gleam in his eye—what really got him fired up—was this deep conviction that God could take hard things, broken things, even wheelchair-shaped things, and use them to build endurance and grow our faith in Christ.