Ephesians 5:16
They’re coming you know, the Holidays. And for all the good that comes with the next two months of celebrations, difficulties adhere. The Holidays often exacerbate strained relationships. Add to that whatever recovery we all need from the recent election cycle which has done little to heal national and often family schisms. Then there are the special interest groups, some […]
My friend’s wife is Jenn*. My friend and I have known each other a long time. I am not sure I have ever met his wife. But I have heard of her. My friend and Jenn are faithful followers of Jesus. They are very active and involved in their local congregation. They are well known in their community. In addition […]
You should have seen it. Perfect. Beautiful. Ridges were just right. Properly proportioned. Warm to the touch. Wiggle-able. Even a little fuzz. An amazing ear. The five-day old ear of our latest granddaughter had me mesmerized as I held her. There was a lot to behold, but it was the ear that caught my eye. The ear wasn’t developing. It […]
There must have been thousands of commencement addresses given across the country in the last few weeks with more coming in early June. I was invited to give one at Concordia University Ann Arbor earlier in May. It was based on some other writing I had done. I share it with you here. Congratulations. This is a big day. A […]
Every school kid knows that the tip of an iceberg represents only 10% of its size. There is more there than meets the eye. Every parent of a school kid knows that when a kid admits to doing something wrong, he is only revealing about 10% of what actually happened. Likewise pastors and others who counsel know that presenting problems […]
Do you have set prayers you use every day? Many Christians through the ages have prayed The Lord’s Prayer daily. Assorted table prayers are offered up daily. A common one is “Bless us, Oh Lord, and these thy gifts which we are about to receive, from thy bounty, through Christ, Our Lord. Amen” The so called “Serenity Prayer” is a […]
Don’t you like a good line? A good phrase? Something with a little punch? G. K. Chesterton was famous for such things. C. S. Lewis too. Mark Twain, Will Rogers, and Yogi Berra had a flare with language and witticisms. They could all say a lot with just a few words. A reader might respond, “Wow, that’s saying something.” This […]
(This is a repost of a note that should be of help at the start of a New Year. It is also part of my Leadership Pathway, a leadership development system, that will prepare younger people for leadership in your congregation or organization. Email me if you would like more information about it.) Leave some room around the edges. Margins […]
Don’t be in a hurry to get through Advent and onto Christmas. This year Advent is as short as it can get; the Fourth Sunday in Advent is Christmas Eve. In a sense the calendar is hurrying us through Advent to get on to Christmas. We lose a whole week of Adventide. Let Advent linger. Linger on the Advent of […]
Check out how often in John’s Gospel Jesus invites us to abide in him or in his word. Actually, both are the same thing: to abide in Jesus is to abide in his word. When Jesus invites us to abide, he is inviting us to be deeply at home in him. (You should hear the word “abode” in “abide”.) Recently, […]
We get them once in a while. They are little reminders from our King that he really is. Yesterday I sent an overdue note to a friend of mine who had had a major life change. The note was just to check in. There was a free moment as I sat in an airport waiting for a plane home. The […]
WATCH OUT I It’s good for us to be careful walking as a child of God in the midst of a sin-filled world. It’s not unlike being careful standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon. I remember a story from a number of years ago about a little four-year-old girl who fell off the side of the Canyon and […]
Across America a farm-to-table movement continues to grow. People look for the freshest fruits, vegetables, and meats. We have grown suspicious of highly processed foods with unknown additives and preservatives. We are not sure where the food has really come from either in terms of location and producers. Is the food safe? Is the food healthy? Is it really food? […]
I think I’ll wear a chair. Not that I will wear a chair as such, but I will wear a chair necklace, a pectoral chair. Some pastors wear a crucifix, a cross necklace with a dead Jesus. Some pastors wear an empty cross, a cross necklace without the figure of Jesus. There is great symbolism and historical precedence for both. […]
(This repost is in celebration of summer vacations in Michigan.) People love sports. People relish the thrill of victory. Winner! People love games. Board games continue to be popular. Card games haven’t gone away. Some people love video gaming to the point of addiction. Competition! I win; you lose. You win; I lose. While competition may have its place as […]
Not only is the Church incurably congregational, it is also incurably “synodical.” Okay, that sounds odd. Synodical? That sounds like a made up word. Actually, it is an ancient word, at least the root word is: synod. Synod means walking on the same (syn—think symphony, lots of sounds at the same time) road (od—think Odyseus and his travels). The word […]
The Church is incurably congregational. Where ever God calls people to faith in Jesus, he calls them into congregations. The idea that “I can follow Jesus all by myself and worship him all by myself in a field” may represent rugged American individualism, but it does not reflect either Biblical teaching or historical Christian living. Christians gather together in congregations. […]
Read through your Bible every year. All of it. This is a drum I bang every chance I get. The point is to capture your imagination not burden your conscience. We meet Jesus in the word for he is the word. How would that change you? How would that change us? When I practice what I preach by reading the […]
How do you describe your congregation? Small, medium, large, mega? What about conservative, liberal, confessional, liturgical, contemporary? Is it dying, surviving, thriving? Would you describe it as a community of health? Whether you are a lay person or a pastor, let me encourage you to consider your congregation as a community of health. Is it one? What would it take […]
280 characters and you are done. This necessitates crisp, clear, concise writing. While I never got into the habit of tweeting, the concept appeals to me. Twitter makes you point not paint. This can’t help but sharpen your thoughts and enhance your communication. Of course, like everything else, it is nothing new. Long before social media of any kind existed, […]
Of course, just recently the world witnessed the coronation of King Charles III. Maybe you watched some of it? There is nothing like a little pomp and circumstance. As you know, and this is no disrespect, the new King is largely a figurehead. It is comforting to know he is around. It is nice to have him show up at […]
Even if you have a rug by the door. Even if you take your shoes off. Even if you are very careful. No matter how hard you try, you are bound to track dirt from outside inside your house. The truth is in the vacuum cleaner. It does not lie. Sure, especially if your dog is as hairy as ours, […]
Your answer might be minus eight, but this is not a math problem. From two different sources this week I learned about ten things that might be particularly significant for a well lived life. From the first source there was a discussion about five habits. James Clear wrote that your five strongest habits are a great indicator of your life’s […]
Don’t take offense. It is not name calling. But as Christians you and I should be like a donkey. Of course not just any donkey, but the Palm Sunday donkey as he carried Jesus into the city. That’s us; we bear Christ (Christopher) to the cities, towns and villages in which we live. We are not culture warriors. Ours is […]
Does your car have a function that warns you about a “speed check ahead”? Somehow there is technology available to identify when a police car is in the area with a radar speed gun. That same technology can warn you when there is a red-light photo sensor at an intersection. Such warnings serve as helpful reminders to slow down and […]
They say, “Charity begins at home.” That’s good. Probably right. But what is charity, or what do we mean by charity? And is home charity’s destination or beachhead? A friend recently sent out a Latin poem the first line of which is “Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est.” Another friend quickly identified it as an ancient hymn and gave […]
What are the right pronouns to use? He/him/his? She/her/hers? Lots of conversation surrounds pronouns these days. But we are having the wrong conversation about the “right pronouns”. That conversation speaks to which third-person pronouns we ought to use. Wrong conversation. The right conversation, the more helpful and ultimately more salutary one, centers instead on a better distinction between use of […]
Late next week I will be involved in a one day conference that will challenge people to read through the Bible. This is not designed to be a burden; it is not forcing one person’s piety on another. It is to capture the imagination. “What difference would reading through the whole Bible in a year make?” Check out the following […]
Aging includes ups and downs. Both good and bad things grow out of the aging process. One of the biggest downs is that no matter how hard you try you will lose muscle mass and strength. You will struggle to lift heavy boxes. You will get tired easier and sooner when you work in the yard. This is why older […]
Where we live there are a lot of stop lights. A lot. Many intersections have multi-phase lights: blinking yellow, blinking red, red arrow, green arrow, red light, yellow light, green light. Multiple streets and lanes feed into the intersections from assorted directions, often more than just four. It can be quite complicated watching who goes when and where. You can […]
Perplexing issues have plagued me recently, a couple thorny issues. So I started looking around for my magic wand, the one I used to use when I was a pastor. Then I remembered; I never had one. I still don’t. Neither do you. A friend reminded me this week, “You can’t fix everything.” Neither can you. There are no magic […]
The Twist. Watusi. Ballroom. Square. Tango. There are all sorts of dances made up of all sorts of steps. Left. Right. Shuffle. Hop. Forward. Back. Sometimes the most important step in a dance is a step back. This past week there was a discussion about a complex issue that involved many people and organizations. People were taking positions. People were […]
God’s followers are not heart-less; we are heart-left. No matter what hurts our hearts, minds and bodies, we have “heart left”. Many things disappoint us. The outcome of a game. Things that happened at work. Someone else got a position. The kids are doing this and not that. The fig tree has not blossomed and there is no fruit on […]
Jesus criticized the Sadducees saying, “You are deceived because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.” (Matthew 22:29) While there continues, rightly, to be emphasis on Christians reading, studying, learning the Scriptures, what do we know about the power of God? What should we consider when we think about God’s power? When did you last contemplate […]
Jesus’ statement to Peter has been banging around my mind this week, “You do not have in mind the things of God but the things of man.” Ouch. Or, touché? What things do we have in mind? Are they God’s or Man’s? Are they God’s or THIS man’s? Carl Trueman has written both The Rise and Triumph of the Modern […]
I do not mean what Adam and Eve did and what that has done to us. I mean the fall, autumn. It is crazy. If you think about it. Why in the world do the leaves do that? The colors. The variation. We can determine how. Because of changes in the length of daylight and changes in temperature, chlorophyll breaks […]
Are you a fan of long books? I am part of a reading group that has met for many years. When my one friend has a turn to pick, the next selection is sure to be a long one. I bet he has read The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire; I never even tried. Often […]
They are called transliterations. They are words from another language that come into English by just changing the letters from the foreign word into English. Take words like mystery, Philadelphia, phobia, narcissism, and fame. For instance, how would you say “fame” in Greek? Well, pretty much you would say fame. We have just changed the Greek letters into English and […]
Conservative. Liberal. Progressive. How would you label yourself? How would you name yourself? What do you mean by the distinction? How much does that distinction shape your view of the world and your place in it? We Christians might be better served to avoid them all. What if we thought of ourselves differently. What about “reconciliationist”? Our place in the […]
Do you have trouble understanding the positions other people take? Do you find it difficult to see the reasoning behind decisions they make? Of special difficulty is the realm of moral decision making. What are people thinking?!?! Better, how are they thinking? It has to do with the filters that people use. In The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are […]
You may know these words and the distinction between them. I did not. But both the words and the distinction between them are significant. The words are “telic” and “atelic”. Oliver Burkeman describes them as used by philosopher Kieran Setiya. “Telic” has to do with something that has a particular purpose or end (telos). “Atelic” has to do with something […]
Lists are a good thing. Lists aren’t just a Santa thing, who checks them twice; they are a God thing. Consider the lists God gives us. The 10 Commandments stand as the most famous list from God. A close second would be the list of amazing acts he accomplished in just the first Six Days. His Spirit guided writers to […]
This past week I was able to spend time with some cousins and my siblings. We reminisced about aunts and uncles, grandmas and grandpas, and caught up on other cousins and their children. Earlier this summer I did the same with other cousins. Families matter. This summer we have carved out some very intentional time to be with our children […]
Joe Walsh of James Gang fame (before he was with The Eagles) recorded a song (after he was with The Eagles) about being “an analog guy in a digital world”. Is the world digital or is it analog? There is much in this world that is analog. Colors, as they change along a spectrum of pea green to forest green, […]
Summer is for more than recreation. It is for re-creation. Even as the ground and the nests teem with new fruitfulness, so summer can be a time for us to be “re-created”, renewed, revitalized—a new fruitfulness. Summer is much better than the winter months for such things. In January we make our resolutions for new lives and then struggle through […]
God is a lot of things. He is not in a hurry. Why should he be? He works from a position outside of our 9 to 5 (or is it 8 to 6?) world. He doesn’t need to be in a hurry; he has eternity in his hand. That same God promises to provide for his people. And he does. […]
This week we celebrated our anniversary. A friend of mine and I were talking about a guy who blew up his ministry. My car is about to turn over to 200,000 miles. Friends at church are far better golfers than I. The house we bought a year ago is becoming our home. What do all these have in common? None […]
Mitch Albom, a popular Detroit radio personality, put it in the “bad song prison”, but I always thought it was one of the best “one hit wonders”: Signs by the Five Man Electrical Band. My favorite part was this: And the sign said “Everybody welcome, Come in, kneel down and pray”. But when they passed around the plate at the […]
I was visiting with some young friends recently and we discussed the place that “desire” has in decision making. Does having a desire for something legitimize getting that thing or engaging in that activity? Then one of the kids said this, “Of course, you only desire the things that you see.” Profound. Not necessarily original, but profound none the less. […]
There continues to be tension in the world, the Church, families and people’s lives. People are upset, uptight and, too often, up in arms. From some conversations this past week it occurs to me that to relieve tension we should actually embrace tension. Embracing rather than eliminating tension will bring relief from it. Follow along. For instance, there was still […]
Spring is in full bloom. It’s almost crazy. Those trees looked about as dead as could be. From a rise in the neighborhood I could survey the roof tops of all the houses down the hill. The patches of dirt covered in leaves and last year’s mulch in the neighbor’s yard seemed irredeemably dormant. It was hard to imagine anything […]
Earlier this week a speaker opined that the Church should be known for hospitality and not hostility. Certainly. Agreed. And that is a problem because as the Church continues to live out its life in this alien world it often is moved toward hostility. We fight against this. We fight against that. We fight against outsiders. Sometimes, we fight against […]
We are thinking about planting a garden in our backyard. Gardening has never been my strong suit, but we might give it a try. We have talked about what to plant. While we have not decided what all we will plant, I know we will not plant any zucchini. Here is the problem with planting zucchini: if you plant zucchini, […]
Are you a news junkie? Do you like to read non-fiction books? Are you a fan of podcasts? There is a ton of information out there. How do you filter it? Do you filter it based on the source? “You know those Republicans.” “You know those Democrats.” “Well, that’s the CNN crowd.” “Well, what do you expect from the talking […]
From time to time people talk about picking up the tab for someone else as an expression of the Gospel. Maybe you leave a $20 bill in the drive through at Chick-fil A for the car behind you. You ask the waitress to put the cost of the bottle of wine for that young couple at the other table who […]
Through the course of ministry at times someone has come up to me and said, “Everyone thinks that this or that is a bad idea.” This report often comes from a self-appointed champion of the way “things ought to be done.” A good retort to such a report is, “Name one.” (The punch line is that normally the only one […]
Getting ready for vacation was an adventure with four kids, a boat and a dog. Groceries. Clothes. Toys. Don’t forget this. Make sure we pack that. Once all was stowed, everything was crammed into place, all were accounted for, a prayer of thanks offered up and the car was pulling out of the driveway, a little cheer would go up. […]
I am working through a book that has surprised me. It has me thinking more than I thought it would. Don’t you love books like that? The book is the Language and the Pursuit of Happiness by Chalmers Brothers. The author teases out the impact that language has on life. While it started out a little slow, the author worked […]
Try this. Go visit a really old cemetery, the older the better. Walk around. Read some of the dates if you can still make them out. Notice the inscriptions. Check out other adjoining grave stones. Do you see some with Christian markings? This is not intended to be a morbid activity. In fact, besides reading the Bible, it may prepare […]
While I would never say that being a pastor is the hardest job in the world, I would certainly assert it is not an easy one. It is also one that, when done well, becomes a great blessing to many. Hebrews 13:17 speaks about supporting your pastor. Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over […]
Do you want to see 100% improvement in life? Instead of trying to do one thing 100% better do 100 things 1% better. The math does not work– the approach does. Where do you want to be when you are 80? Too often we only think such a thought in terms of money. What about health? What about family? What about […]
Do you plan to worship this Sunday?* What goes into that determination? Is it a foregone conclusion that when Sunday comes you will be found in worship? Or do you weigh things before you make your way to worship? Do the kids have a game this Sunday?Is the press of yardwork or shopping greater?Has it been a long week and […]
There are two ways to understand this characteristic. Let’s consider both. “Being positive” can mean “being absolutely sure about something.” When you are absolutely sure about something, be kind. If you know you are right about something and someone else is wrong, be gentle. Be humble. Ephesians 4:15 teaches, “Speak the truth in love.” When you are absolutely sure about something, […]
A clear memory from my youth was my dad saying, “Aim high. You might hit the outhouse wall, but dust yourself off and aim higher again.” Too often in life we aim too low. Aim higher. Aim higher than happiness and fun. People talk about these ad nauseam. We measure all too much of life by how happy something makes […]
Conflict abounds. This side rages against that side. Make signs. Post tweets. Getting even morphs into getting ahead. My side wins; your side loses. It has been a long time since John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band sang, “All we are saying is give peace a chance.” We Christians serve the Prince of Peace, he who said, “Blessed are […]
Read lots. One of the best ways to read lots is to read a little bit every day. Over the course of sixty or seventy years if you read a little bit every day, it will add up to lots! Read the Bible. Aggressively. Plan to make it through the entire Bible at least once a year. While this is […]
The less time you spend trying to be what you are not the better. God gives some gifts to all people. He does not give all gifts to all people. He has dealt you some cards but not every card. In life, your work, your family and in the congregation make sure you play the hand you are dealt and […]
I always thought we should change the words from: “Like a mighty army moves the Church of God” to “Like a might army meets the Church of God.” Why is it that church meetings seem to take forever and go nowhere? As a leader in your congregation a fair amount of your time will be spent in meetings, some official […]
As a leader in your congregation you may be asked from time to time to offer up a public prayer. (Remember, pastors are not the only ones who can pray.) It can be a nerve-racking experience. One of my anxieties as a beginning pastor was praying publicly. I remember as a freshly minted minister being asked to say the prayer […]
People love sports. People relish the thrill of victory. Winner! People love games. Board games continue to be popular. Card games haven’t gone away. Some people love video gaming to the point of addiction. Competition! I win; you lose. You win; I lose. While competition may have its place as a play thing, it is a dangerous toy. Competition compares […]
What does it mean to “love your neighbor as yourself?” What in our love for self should shape our love for others? At least one of the ways we love ourselves is that we give ourselves a lot of slack. We put the best construction on our own actions. We easily let ourselves off the hook. We self-assess our lives […]
I read two, but only needed to read one, books by Frank Peretti. One was plenty. I mean this is a good sense. In his book, This Present Darkness, he gave a great picture of demonic oppression. He personalized how certain demons plague the people of God. The idea was clear in the first book. I do not suppose that […]
Business and organization guru Jim Collins writes about the genius of the AND instead of the tyranny of the OR. His point is that we often make false dichotomies, we can do this OR that, instead of seeing that the better position, the genius, is to do this AND that. Any of you who know me even a little know […]
Make no mistake, you are at war. Make no mistake. Don’t let the mundane activities of the moment, the din of daily news, the tedious tasks of the week fool you. You are at war. Satan and his hounds of hell hate what you are doing and the One you serve. They exert their eternal energies to discourage, disrupt and […]
Many of my pastor buddies use the phrase “think theologically.” It is a good phrase, as far as it goes. By that they mean that when we think through different issues or actions in life, we should consider them from a theological point of view. We should bring to bear theological perspectives into the situation, what does God’s word say […]
“I tell you the truth,” is a happy translation for the word “amen.” “Truly, truly,” is pretty good too. Doesn’t it always sound nice to hear Jesus start a statement by, “I tell you the truth…?” He rightly identified himself as the way, the TRUTH and the life. As you know, truth has taken a beating. People are not even […]
Money. Sex. Power. Power is the biggest temptation. Power is powerful. The Greek word for power is the word that gives us the English word “dynamite.” You know the old line, “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” What you may not know is that the misuse of power is at the base of much of the misuse of money […]
Years ago a long-time church leader encouraged me to “externalize the opinion.” By that he meant that I should seek someone from outside of our congregation to weigh in on how we were doing. For instance, instead of asking our members how friendly we were, I should have someone from outside of the congregation come, visit and report back on […]
Sex is a gift from God to be enjoyed by a husband and wife. It is indeed a powerful gift. Like all gifts Satan seeks to get us to misuse and misappropriate it. While boundaries are important in all areas of life, they are even more so in the area of intimacy. What follows may sound quaint, outmoded or unenlightened. […]
What follows is not the same as what I have written on tithing. It is the first of three big topics. Money is liquid creation. Money allows you to acquire or access parts of creation. Money like all of creation is a gift from God. We are to use it. Wisely. We should love God and use money. Too often […]
Not only is the Church incurably congregational, it is also incurably “synodical.” Okay, that sounds odd. Synodical? That sounds like a made up word. Actually, it is an ancient word, at least the root word is: synod. Synod means walking on the same (syn—think symphony, lots of sounds at the same time) road (od—think Odyseus and his travels). The word […]
The Church is incurably congregational. Where ever God calls people to faith in Jesus, he calls them into congregations. The idea that “I can follow Jesus all by myself and worship him all by myself in a field” may represent rugged American individualism, but it does not reflect either Biblical teaching or historical Christian living. Christians gather together in congregations. […]
This is not just the pastor’s job. This is the call of each Christian. This is the reality of each Christian. Each of us represents Jesus. The issue is how well we represent him. Focus on Love. Jesus taught his disciples, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:35) As representatives […]
“No” is a tremendous gift. It was part of the giftedness of the perfect Creation. When God created the heavens and the earth, he included for Adam and Eve the gift of “no”. He said, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, […]
Words are power. Beware the words. Here are three words that lead to trouble. The Problem of Pride Watch pride, the word. Everyone seems to be proud. Victorious sports teams celebrate with pride. Parents speak with pride about their children’s accomplishments. Companies that seek success do so by instilling pride in their workers. Pride is everywhere and everyone has it. […]
God went all out when he created eyes. The complexity and flexibility of the eyes astound. Cameras and other mechanical devices may approximate what the eyes can do, but they cannot begin to compare to the wonder that is the human eye. There is one major limitation to the human eye. It tends to see only what it is already […]
Please use them. You represent the King of Kings. Mind your manners. Be polite. It is never right to be rude. Here are a few to keep in mind: Take your hat off inside, unless you are a lady, although even ladies should not wear “men’s hats” (like ball caps) indoors.Be on time for your appointments or call to let […]
Smile. God really does love you. Really. Yes, you have a lot going on. Plenty of things fill your day: family commitments, work deadlines, bills due, chores at home. Life is hard. But smile. Smiling may be the Christian’s strongest confession of faith. (It certainly is a lot easier than reciting the Athanasian Creed!) Look at this word from Habakkuk 3: […]
… for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ… If we are clothed in Christ, does it matter what else we wear? This may surprise you, but pastors talk a lot about what they should wear. Some wear a robe in worship; others don’t. Some wear casual clothes all the time; some wear dress […]
SHHHH… Let me encourage you to turn off everything and spend some time in peace and quiet: no TV, no iPad, no Pandora, no Netflix. I remember studying spiritual disciplines with some friends. We talked about the usual topics: Bible reading, fasting, prayer, tithing and the like. Then we talked about silence. Have you noticed how little of it there […]
When it comes to boundary management, selective neglect is a crucial club. Use this carefully. But use it. Sometimes good enough is. Sometimes you must let some things go. You cannot attend every meeting. You cannot make every game. You cannot read every book or journal. You cannot do it all. You cannot. You are a follower in the Lord’s […]
This is a touchy topic. But it is one that must be touched. By drinking, I do not mean the ubiquitous water bottle. I mean alcohol. Beer. Wine. Liquor. Make no mistake; alcohol is a gift from God. Jesus’ first miracle provided wine, a lot of it. Wine is at the heart of our sacramental union with Christ. It is […]
WHAT AILS OUR LAND? We hear more and more people calling for justice. Certainly, I am all for justice. So is God! After all that’s why he sent Jesus. But what if we focused on grace instead? What if YOU focused on grace instead? Jesus did so above all things. AND THIS This wouldn’t hurt either. Concentrate on WE instead […]
Think in outlines. To consistently communicate well, think in outlines. Proper application of this note will have wide ranging application to all kinds of communication. The skill you learned back in fourth grade will carry you through communication in every area of your life. Outlines force better organization and sharper points. Outline everything. I first came across this “outlining insight” […]
WHAT’S IN A NAME? Do you call yourself a Christian? A Lutheran? A Baptist? A Catholic? What if we called ourselves “Christ Followers?” What difference would that make in how we thought of ourselves? What difference would that make in how others thought of us? Is a rose by any other name still a rose? Or could it be something […]
Throughout life generally and ministry specifically I have fought the urge to hop on bandwagons. While new and exciting things are indeed new and exciting, stewardship of life beckons us to the tried and true. Of course, applying that too rigorously will make you vulnerable to missing fresh ways of doing things and at the same time make you liable […]
WHAT A DEPRESSING BOOK A while back I read a book recommended by Oprah Winfrey entitled The Road by Cormac McCarthy. It is a gripping story about a father and son and their quest to keep alive following some kind of world-wide catastrophe (nuclear devastation, pandemic?). The thing that made it so depressing was that there was no hope. No […]
Leave some room around the edges. Margins matter. Imagine reading a book or paper that has the words right up the edge. Ugh! Imagine how you smile when you crack open a big thick book only to find the pages have wide margins. Ahh! Keep money margins. Don’t spend right up to the edge of your income. Leave some margin. […]
LIFELONG LEARNING We often hear about the importance of being a lifelong learner. As young people graduate they are reminded in commencement messages that their learning has not come to an end, but to a new beginning. What about you? What are you learning? Do you have a good book going? Do you have an avocation that keeps you stimulated? […]
You ought to get involved in a book club or two along the way. Book clubs build two kinds of relationships. First, conversation about a book will help you to know other group members better through the intellectual interactions. Second, through that conversation with the other group members you will actually get to know the author and the author’s material […]
THINK ON THIS: HOPE Have you read Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus lately? In the first chapter he encouraged the early followers of Jesus to really have the eyes of their hearts opened to a number of things. One of them was the HOPE of the Christians calling. Think on the hope that you have in Jesus. Christian […]
To state the obvious: you must make sure that you spend time with your family, corporately and individually. Daily, weekly and “vacationally,” you need to be with the family and they need to be with you. You neglect this to the detriment of all: yourself, your family, the congregation, the community. Strong, healthy families serve as the backbone of the […]
HELP YOU BELIEVE? The recent multiple shootings across our land sure help you believe… in evil, in wickedness, in profound brokenness. Death. Sudden. Brutal. Tragic. Senseless. We see it way to often. And we name what is behind it: evil. Such awareness of evil helps you believe that there must be something more to existence than the brief, unpredictable and […]
What passages do you find troubling or difficult? Something in Daniel? Revelation? Here is one of the most troubling and difficult passages for me. “Be quick to listen and slow to speak.” (James 1:19) Are you kidding me? That’s a lot to ask from a pastor! Listening is lots harder than it looks. Surely you know the old line, “There’s […]
DRIFTING? DISTRACTED? How is your walk with Jesus going? Are you as close to him as you were a year ago? Or are you drifting? Are you distracted? Time and time again the Old Testament people drifted. What was supposed to be a close and personal relationship with a living and loving God became less and less important. They drifted. Time and time again the […]
Tithe the gross through your local congregation. You cannot buy better financial advice than this. Money grips us in its hold more than we know. You don’t have to be rich to worship money. Rich people are not the only ones susceptible to the worship of money. Sometimes in fact poor people worship it more than the rich. They are […]
SPORTS AS WORSHIP The NCAA basketball tournament is back. When it fell a year ago, I opined that the gods of this world were falling. Politics were in uproar, scientists were scratching their heads, colleges were sending kids home, financial circumstances were in chaos, entertainment venues were closed. With the return of sports… and the American worship of it… we in […]
Memorization of Scripture is an ancient practice. Almost as ancient is the reality that people complain about doing so! Somewhere I read something about the benefits of memorization. The author said, “Bible memorization is a good way to have good things stuck in your head.” That’s good. Better yet, someone else has suggested that we replace the word “memorization” with […]
GONNA GET TO SEE THEM This past week a number of my friends gushed excitedly about family members who, because of the rising numbers of vaccinations, they were finally going to be able to see. “We haven’t seen so and so for 12 months!” Here’s the interesting part. They were finally “going to see” family members they had regularly seen […]
Much has been written in many places on fasting. Read up on it. Jesus did it. The disciples did it. The Bible talks about it. I do not remember anyone at the Seminary encouraging me seriously to consider fasting as part of a regular spiritual discipline, but through the years I experimented with and expanded my practice of it. It […]
GOD GENE? In any number of publications, you will find articles about a so called “god gene.” Scientists think they are finding evidence that there is a genetic predisposition toward being “religious.” What do you think about that? Is there a “religious gene” because religiousness at some point was advantageous for the human race? Is it from a mutation? Is […]
Thigh pads, shoulder pads, cleats and a helmet. Tuxedo, tie and dress shoes. Weighted boots, oxygen supply, pressurized suit. Scrubs, gloves, mask. To get ready to play football, perform in an orchestra, fly to the moon or conduct surgery requires getting suited up. Getting suited up for the mission of God consists in putting on the panoply of God, the […]
“Pastor, what does God want me to do with my life?” If I had a nickel for every time I have heard that, I wouldn’t be rich, but I would have a few dollars. Consecrated Christians do desire to follow God’s leading, take his path, make decisions in accord with his will, but the way forward is often unclear. There […]
Year ago I led a sectional at a pastors’ conference. The committee asked me to talk about meeting the needs of our communities in these difficult times. (This was years ago. Interesting, the times are always difficult.) While ministries like coat distribution, food pantries, after school youth center and so on meet some of the needs, there is another way […]
This goes back a while. Seven-Up conducted an ad campaign designating itself as the Un-Cola. It was still a pop (or soda), but it was different. Cola was not a bad thing; the un-cola was a different thing. Many Christians, at least functionally, consider “church work” to be connected with maintaining the local congregation. Make no mistake that is indeed […]
I wish for you something more than success in life. I wish you significance. Aim higher than success; seek significance. Success tends to be measured in opponents conquered and things accumulated. Significance is measured in the difference made. Success is always at risk. Significance endures. The first and most fundamental step on the path toward significance is simple. It is […]
You have often heard people say, “Preach the Gospel. Use words if necessary.” People attribute it to St. Francis of Assisi. While many have repeated this mantra, it turns out St. Francis never said it. Actually, he was known as quite a preacher—the words mattered to him. The Gospel of Jesus, because it consists in a message, necessitates words, verbalization. […]
Never let anyone or anything steal your joy. You are sons and daughters of the Most High God! You have the hosts of heaven helping you and the gates of heaven waiting for you. Your sins, faults and failures are washed clean. God is with you and for you. Of course, you also have bills to pay. Projects at work […]
Pray a lot. Prayer is one of the great responsibilities and opportunities of Christ followers, both public and private prayer. It is one of the “roll up your sleeves” duties. It is not a mere formality to start and end a day, a meeting or a meal. It is one of the great things you can do for a person, […]
It has been said, “You can’t give away what you don’t have.” I like that. When it comes to sharing Jesus with others, we can’t give away what we don’t have. We cannot give away a solid, mature testimony of the Biblical Jesus if we do not have it. And the surest way to be able to have plenty to […]
In pastoral ministry perspective is significance. Remember it is a job. Being a pastor is your job. It is hard work. You will need to work hard; you will need to work smart. Never apologize for being paid to do this work. Jesus is the Good Shepherd. You are not. You are, in a very real sense, a hireling. This […]
You will teach much with words. You may teach more with your example, how you live. Or at least your teaching with words will be buttressed or hamstrung by your example. Do not underestimate the influence of example. Remember, after many years of God’s proclamation to his people through the words of the prophets, he showed more clearly and completely […]
The pastoral ministry is an inexact science. It calls for experimentation. It calls for artfulness. It calls for tinkering. Plan to tinker. One of my biggest surprises in the pastoral ministry was that there is no clear path on how everything really should be done and how everything really fits together and how everything really works! After nearly four decades […]
There isn’t one. At least I never found one, and I looked hard! Go to the conferences, read the books, attend lectures, pray for insights, but don’t expect to find one silver bullet that will change everything in your ministry and provide amazing fruitfulness! There is not one thing out there that you have not found that if found would […]
I do not mean the ubiquitous water bottle. I mean alcohol. Beer. Wine. Liquor. This is a touchy topic. But it is one that must be touched. Make no mistake; alcohol is a gift from God. It is at the heart of our sacramental union with Christ. It is at the center of Paradise’s promise. (Isaiah 25:6) But it also […]
We live in a casual culture. Men leave hats on when they enter buildings. People who formerly would have been greeted with, “Hello Mr. and Mrs. So and So,” are now greeted with, “Hey Guys. Sup?” Hugging is done everywhere by everyone—no matter how casual or new the relationship. (Well, not so much since COVID.) I do not see a […]
The following will get you out of trouble before you get into it. Robert Frost remarked wisely, “Good fences make good neighbors.” Proverbs 23:10 warns against moving ancient boundary stones. In Dare to Discipline James Dobson writes about the importance of boundary setting for raising children. Make sure that you have appropriate and firm boundaries in place. You will be […]
…of sorts… This past week I finished reading (listening to) Adam Grant’s book Give and Take. It’s not a new book, but it was new to me. The subtitle is Why Helping Others Drives Our Success. Grant begins with a very compelling discussion about who is most likely to succeed in life: givers, takers or matchers. There is a great […]
My mother liked straight pictures. When I painted for her through the years, the worst part of the job was rehanging all the pictures. We had to measure. Mark. Compare the mark to the next picture. Re-measure. Hang. Put the level on it. Take it back down. Re-measure again. Try a new nail over 1/8th of an inch. Hang. Move […]
The less time you spend trying to be what you are not, and even more so, the less energy you spend forcing your congregation to be what it is not, the better. Don’t underestimate the significance of this insight. God gives some gifts to all people. He does not give all gifts to all people. He has dealt you some […]
As a pastor somewhere, somehow you have gotten stuck. Maybe you could never quite get the sermon you were working on to come together. Maybe there is a project that hasn’t quite gotten off the ground. Maybe you have not quite hit a stride in a particular area of ministry. Try turning things upside down. For instance, if you have […]
Pastors are notorious for being lone rangers. They are, unfortunately, notorious for being narcissistic. We fall far too easily into the sinfully silly notion that we are the show; we are not. That it is about us; it is not. We must WORK at the recognition that we are in the ministry together with lots of other people. We must […]
Plan to stick with this for a while. Being a pastor is a complicated Calling. The more trips you make around the block the more effective you should be—as long as you don’t always go around the same block in the same way! Serving as a pastor is one of those things that is more art than science. Rome wasn’t […]
Never let anyone or anything steal your joy. This is significant day in and day out. You are a child of the Most High God! You have the hosts of heaven helping you and the gates of heaven waiting for you. Your sins, faults and failures are washed clean. God is with you and for you. Of course, you also […]
I heard it twice this week. Once from “the left.” Once from “the right.” Both on news shows.* “No pun intended.” Here is what is odd. For both of them the pun was intended. It was scripted, crafted, prepared, maybe even tele-prompted. If that is not intended, what is? It was a blatant falsehood—from both sides, both of which claim […]
Should pastors wear a robe and a clerical collar? Should they wear khakis and a sport shirt? What about jeans and a tee shirt? Many have spent much time discussing this. Isn’t that kind of a funny question? Of all the issues that we can talk about, how in the world can it matter how a pastor dresses?!? But it […]
If you are going to serve as a pastor, you better learn to juggle. You have multiple responsibilities: child of God, husband, father, son, pastor, community member, churchman. As a pastor you have multiple tasks: PreachLeadWorship planningStrategic planningFinancial planningTeach adultsTeach young peopleTeach children (these three are dramatically different)Grief counselingPre-marriage and marriage counselingEnd of life counselingBossScholarOccasional plumbing and electrical workLawn mowing […]
What’s the point of not doing your best? What’s the point of not trying to get better? Scripture has some choice words about being a sluggard. Check out Proverbs 6:9-11. There are two schools of thought. One says to work hard on your weaknesses to minimize them. The other says to work hard on your strengths to maximize them. Why […]
Our congregation has begun a year long emphasis on the work of the Holy Spirit. Many Christians confess to being perplexed by the work of the Holy Spirit. They say they understand the idea of God the Father and God the Son, but the idea of God the Holy Spirit mystifies. That problem may be more about modesty than mystery. […]