As I write this week’s column, the General Assembly of the Christian Church is already well underway.  I’ve had the opportunity to attend amazing worship services and challenging workshops. Something I’m hearing over and over again is that we can no longer afford to wait in our buildings for people to come to us.  In the same way Jesus and his disciples…

We’ve been in our home off of River Road now for about 2 ½ years.  The first summer, we noticed a few hummingbirds would stop by our window to inform us the previous owners had been thoughtful enough to put out feeders for them.  This summer, we finally got with the program and have been enjoying watching them come and go ever…

For the past year or so, I’ve been following a new show called “Turn: Washington’s Spies.”  It tells the story of the Revolutionary War from the perspective of ordinary people (many of them civilians) who helped win America’s freedom.  The show is based on actual historical figures. As I’ve watched the dramatic inner workings of America’s Revolution, I get the same feeling…

During the summer months, some things on our church calendar take a break.  For instance, Wednesday night L.I.F.E. Groups and youth groups won’t start up again until September.  However, other things take off!  Indeed, summer might just be the best season of the year to see the heart of First Christian Church at work. I believe one of the reasons God has blessed…

The other day I ran across a word I’d never seen before: “lifewithoutspacemakesnosense.” Of course, it didn’t take me long to realize the spaces had been left out.  Add the spaces back in and you have the makings of a great sermon: “life without space makes no sense.” As we enter into the summer months, many of us will make time for…

Pentecost seems to be one Christian holiday Hallmark just doesn’t know what to do with.  Christmas has Santa and Easter has the Easter bunny – but what about poor Pentecost.  I read about one preacher who went out shopping on the Friday before Pentecost and noticed there was no indication whatsoever that there were only two shopping days left until Pentecost.  He…

We are in the midst of updating our church website and I was given the job of writing the “Who We Are” section.  It has turned out to be more difficult than I thought it would be.  Do I focus on the variety of worship services we offer?  Do I highlight the amazing music we have at all our services?  How about…

A wise pastor once told me he never used his newsletter column to talk about events that had already occurred because it was too late for folks who hadn’t attended.  He told me, instead, to use my column to increase excitement about events still to come.  Well, I’m going to break this unwritten rule and brag a little bit about the children…

This year, in addition to all of my normal spring yard work, I’ve also taken on the task of refinishing our deck.  Needless to say, my body isn’t used to this kind of activity. My dad worked hard as a print shop mechanic and small business owner all his life.  Even though he had polio as a child that just about crippled…

There were a couple of things I heard a lot as a kid.  The first was, “If you keep that up, somebody’s going to get hurt.”  And the second was, “If you keep that up, you ARE going to get hurt… and I’m going to be the one who does it!”  Either way, I knew there were probably going to be consequences coming.…