Posts with the tag “weekender”

I’ve always enjoyed asking questions, and finding answers, about what seems obvious (but really isn’t).  In so doing, many times discovery is right around the corner.The above question is one of those...  Read More

Leadership.  What is it?  How important is it?  And where do we find the kind of leaders we need?On a recent Sunday evening, Pamela and I watched a report by Nora O’Donnell (CBS news, 60 Minutes) on t...  Read More

Philippians 3:20-21But our citizenship is in heaven, and from itwe await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,who will transform our lowly body to be likeHis glorious body, by the power that enables Himeve...  Read More

Psalm 71:18So even to old age and gray hairs,O God, do not forsake me,until I proclaim Your might to another generation,Your power to all those to come. Allow me to gently challenge you for a moment. ...  Read More

Being a technology luddite, I am almost never on social media.  So I hadn’t heard.Until this week.  Have you?  The Spirit of God is blowing where He will through the Asbury University campus (Wilmore,...  Read More

As I write today (Wednesday), the death toll from Monday’s 7.5-7.8 magnitude twin-earthquakes in eastern Turkey and northwestern Syria has climbed to over 11,000 human beings.Rescue teams worldwide ha...  Read More

Decades ago, I played the game.  I’ll admit it. I didn’t care much for the guys in the striped shirts (yep, they were all guys back then).  And, I gave my share of “lip” when one of their whistles sto...  Read More

Those whose life is marketing and advertising know — they live to succeed in making ideas about products or services stick in our heads.  They work hard to get messages to the public memorably,  frequ...  Read More

Surely, you’ve heard this expression.  Maybe you’ve used it to describe someone you know.“She’s a glass-half-empty person.”  Or, “Well, if that isn’t a glass half-full outlook!”There are at least 2 wa...  Read More

You might be surprised to discover that the word “pastor” (as we commonly use it) does not actually occur in many English translations of the books of the Bible. The word pastor occurs most often in ...  Read More

“Here we are, Lord. Speak! Your servants are listening....  Read More

The parts of the Bible composed over centuries, by authors who lived in different eras and different places – some writing narrative, some poetry and songs, a few writing biographies while others comp...  Read More

I know from talking to pastoral colleagues around the country.  It’s a difficult decision to know whether or not to have a gathered worship service on a Sunday which is also Christmas Day.Why?Well, be...  Read More

“Congregationalism” owns a conviction that the Lord’s will is indicated through the vote of its members. Our membership meetings are important ...  Read More

There are moments when, as a pastor, you could wish for all the world that the earth would open up beneath your feet and swallow you up instantaneously.   Self-inflicted, pastoral moments of extreme e...  Read More

Sometimes, a great idea gets little attention.Rather than being recognized, it is ignored.  Rather than being applauded, those in charge are dismissive.  Deserving to be the front page, it can be buri...  Read More

Your Coach knows. And He’s not kept from you the purpose. Listening to Him and not quitting is what you are called do…as well as not hating what He is putting you through....  Read More

One of the great challenges with Sunday mornings is what I would call the “shelf life” of sermons.What do I mean?I mean that most sermons tend to “go in one ear and out the other.”  Communications stu...  Read More

I’ll admit it.. I’ve lost touch with today’s popular heroes.  Honestly, I am at a loss to name any without doing a Google search.Our dictionaries clarify for our thinking that a hero is “a person note...  Read More

We hear Paul the Apostle tell us by the Spirit of God that “all the promises of God find their Yes in Christ” (2 Corinthians 1:20).  Indeed, we count on the reliability of God’s promises.  Hebrews 6:1...  Read More

Is there an abundance of God’s wisdom sayings treasured up in your heart? Have you prayerfully looked to share them?...  Read More

Black-and-white thinking makes us uncomfortable. Maybe even nervous. Even more so living in a culture where 50 (or more) shades of gray are so acceptable to so many. Then we run into Proverbs and t...  Read More

If you were to count as you read through Proverbs, you’d discover that fearing the Lord is mentioned at least 20 times. For this wisest of kings (i.e., Solomon), fearing the Lord was a matter not to ...  Read More

Ask yourself: “If I had to stand before God today, would he see me as righteous?” If so, for what reason?...  Read More

Listening to Scripture – indeed if we will regularly – reminds us that God has made wisdom abundantly available, and free! The Holy Spirit moves James to write “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him as...  Read More

There’s little doubt that one of our country’s (i.e., the United States of America) main struggles has to do with that word “united.” Today, our name feels like a misnomer. We are a remarkably polar...  Read More

Greatness as serving? Greatness as giving up your own life for another? Greatness is freely paying an expensive ransom so that someone “less than you” can be rescued....  Read More

Reading Mark’s gospel, one realizes that Jesus’ original disciples seemed at times to be quite hard-of-hearing. What kept them from learning well from Jesus’ example, and hearing well Jesus’ teaching...  Read More

Church membership in our country has hit a new, all-time low. Over the past two decades, the number of Americans who refuse to identify when any faith or religion has grown from 8% (2000) to 13% (in...  Read More

Still, digesting a sermon without getting a stomach ache can be difficult. One of my seminary preaching professors once remarked (tongue-in-cheek, as I recall), “I’ve listened to 7,000 sermons in the...  Read More

There is a pathway to greatness. But it is a “greatness” as defined by the Lord. A greatness which He relentlessly modeled....  Read More

Monifa was demoted, dismissed, and disqualified for any benefits, all because she wanted to post a Bible verse at her work station....  Read More