I once saw a speaker do an object lesson I’ll never forget. He brought up a volunteer from the audience and showed him a $20 bill. It was crisp and new. He asked the volunteer if he wanted it. Of course, the man said, “Sure!” The speaker then took that $20 bill, crumpled it up…

A blank slate. That’s what I sit down to every week when it comes time to write my column for The Spirit. I’ve got approximately 200 words to write something that will hopefully inspire, challenge, or move you into action. That’s a big job for a little 200-word essay – but that’s no reason not…

Once there was a tuba player in a philharmonic orchestra who got a night off because he had a tooth pulled. He decided to go to the concert anyway and sit in the audience for a change. He took his seat in the front row of the balcony where he could see and hear everything…

It has been a busy summer of camps, conferences, VBS, pool parties, softball games and lots more – all capped off by a wonderful Disciples Together weekend. The Labor Day parade is next Monday (there’s still room for you to pass out water bottles or ride on our float) and next Wednesday, all our children’s,…

When I was in school, I always put a lot of pressure on myself to perform well – and was always discouraged when I didn’t. Some things never change – which is why the message of God’s unmerited love and amazing grace always sounds like such Good News to me. There’s a great old country…

Have you ever noticed the four little stick figures holding hands in the logo on the front of the Spirit? The logo was first developed for the Christian Church in the Upper Midwest to represent the four states that make up our region. For First Christian Church, however, it represents the four distinct worship services…

Yesterday, I was listening to the radio and a news story came on about a group of 10 people that survived a direct hit by a tornado by taking refuge in a beer cooler. They all just happened to be in a quickie mart at the same time. They were complete strangers – but were…

Last week in church we announced an upcoming “back to school” mission project, in which we will help out needy kindergartners and their families with school supplies. For some of our teachers, that announcement was too soon. They groaned to think about jumping back into the busyness of a school year. But don’t worry! There’s…

One of the side effects of writing sermons for 25 years is that you begin to see how nearly everything can provide a glimpse of God at work in the world. For instance, when my kids were little, there was a constant temptation to use the things they said and did as sermon illustrations. Eventually,…

Some of my earliest memories are of Vacation Bible School at Capitol Hill Christian Church – back when the church still sat a block from the state capitol in Des Moines. Before the state bought the building and sent us out to the east side, Capitol Hill’s members came together every year to create a…