The love our “newsletter ladies” have and show each week is immeasurable. They come in smiling and chit chatting, always wanting to know how everyone is doing. They are like a little ministry amongst themselves. Each week one of them signs up to bring treats and I provide coffee for them always knowing who takes…
It’s interesting to me how things like wildfires, tornadoes and earthquakes are often called “Acts of God.” I think it would be more accurate to describe things like that as “acts of nature.” Why I have a problem attributing these natural occurrences to God is that, while they may be powerful, they are powerful in…
Even though summer doesn’t officially arrive until June, Memorial weekend kicks off the summer season for most of us! With that comes well-earned vacations, lots of ball games or maybe time at the pool. In the church world that generally also means more people are physically absent from church. In order to keep your spiritual…
In the past few decades, psychologists have identified a condition called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder that often afflicts survivors of violent crimes, natural disasters or war. Even severe illnesses or other major life events can lead to the kinds of symptoms associated with PTSD. Now researchers are talking about something else they’ve discovered called “post…
Q. What do all superheroes have in common? A. They fight for good. Just like a superhero has to make that choice to use their gifts for good, we are also heroes in training. We are to focus on using our strengths and great gifts for the good of God’s Kingdom. But just like Kryptonite…
In Phillip Yancey’s book, “What’s So Amazing About Grace?” he tells a story about a conference that was held sometime after World War 2 on comparative religions. Experts from around the world debated what belief was unique to the Christian faith. They began eliminating possibilities. For instance, what about incarnation – the idea of God…
For a long time, the church has operated under the assumption that, “if you build it they will come,” just like the quote from the great Iowa movie, “Field of Dreams.” But that isn’t how Jesus and the disciples did ministry. They went out into the world. They found lost and hurting people and shared…
A while back I wrote about the plethora of worms on our church parking lot after the rain. Not long after, I arrived to work, opened the vehicle door and dried, icky looking worms were stuck to the pavement. Dehydrated worms must not be as sweet as dehydrated fruit, because no birds were flocking to…
I once heard someone say that if a seed doesn’t grow – it’s probably not the seed’s fault. Farmers have known for eons that it’s important to take care of the soil. In more recent times, lawn companies will come to your property, take a soil sample, and tell you exactly what you need to…
This past week I was able to step away from the office and attend a Continuing education/Spiritual retreat for young ministers throughout the United States. It’s called Bethany Fellows, and it is so wonderfully good for me and my soul. You can go to www.bethanyfellows.org for more information about it, and even contribute to this…