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, […]