Renewable Now

by

In times like these, you turn to the Bible hoping to find something to get you through. Then you discover that the book you are trying to understand, understands you. For example, in 2 Corinthians 4:8 – 9, Paul writes, “We are hard pressed on every side . . . perplexed . . . persecuted . . . struck down.” Does the phrase “hard pressed” paint a picture for you? Like on one side, you are up against a rock called fear and on the other you are being pressed by the boulder of financial insecurity. The walls of quarantine … Read more…

We’re Going to be OK

by

A year from now, or maybe two, we’ll look back on this moment with a lot more clarity. We’ll know who the heroes were. We’ll understand some of the mistakes. We will be coming to terms with how COVID 19 changed us and settling into the new normal it wrought. It won’t be as inconsequential as Y2K was back in 1999. I don’t think it will be as world altering as September 11, 2001. Wherever it falls on that continuum, we’re going to be OK. How do I know that?

… Read more…

Click, Click, Click

by

An old friend of mine is dying. I learned the news just this week and the truth is, I didn’t even know he was sick. Cancer. We were a part of the same church back in Atlanta. Then they moved, we moved a couple of times and we lost touch. Still, I was deeply saddened to hear that hospice has been called in. If you have some relationships that have atrophied due to distance or time or whatever, it would be good to reach out and reconnect. The unexpected turn in life is not a bug. It’s a feature. He … Read more…

A Wait Problem

by

Do you count the items the person in front of you has in their cart in the grocery store express lane? Do you honk your horn at people if they don’t smoke their tires the second the traffic light turns green? Do you ever pass slower drivers on the right and give them the evil eye as you go by? Do you line surf at Walmart? If you answered yes to these questions, you, my friend, have a wait problem. You hate to wait. Do not be alarmed. Most of us suffer from this condition. Our national anthem isn’t The … Read more…

No Room in the In-Group

by

In last week’s post I made the not-so-subtle suggestion that your church probably isn’t as friendly as you think. Even if you have all the expected contingencies – greeters, welcome stations, stand-and-greet sessions in the worship service, etc. – your church probably is not near as hospitable as you imagine. The reason is that when you walk in the door you know enough people and enough people know you that it feels like a family reunion. It feels that way to your visitor’s, too. It’s just not their family reunion they are walking into. Which always feels weird. This week, … Read more…

Your Church is Not as Friendly as You Think

by

I bet you think your church is friendly. It’s probably the friendliest church ever. You have greeters in the parking lot, in the lobby, even in the sanctuary. Every Sunday you see lots of handshakes, hugs and little groups of people huddled up in corners talking, laughing and loving on each other. And just in case someone wasn’t properly welcomed, you have an official stand-and-greet time somewhere in the service. Your church has practically institutionalized friendliness. If someone visits your church and doesn’t agree that it’s friendly – well – it’s probably because they were sending out some non-verbal cues … Read more…

Closer

by

I had this routine when I was a kid. I’d come home from school, pull a sleeve of saltines from the box and lay a dozen crackers out on the counter. I’d take three of those processed cheese squares and quarter them, put a piece of cheese on each cracker and stack them up. Then I’d pour a tall glass of sweet tea, carry it all into the living room, eat cheese crackers and watch Gilligan’s Island. Every day. Other than the fact that I was in love with Mary Ann, I can’t tell you why I was such a … Read more…

You’ve Lost That Loving . . . Doing

by

I’m preaching a series these days on the letters to the seven churches in Revelation chapters 2 and 3. Last Sunday, we focused on the church in Ephesus – the church that had forsaken the love they had at first. In the past, I interpreted that to mean that they had fallen out of love with Jesus. That their worship was routine, their prayer life mundane and their ministry motivated by nothing but duty. Now, I think that’s the wrong take. The text doesn’t say that. What it says is that they were doctrinally sound, stubbornly faithful and actively serving. … Read more…

Housebroken Jesus

by

Do not fear getting older, for with age comes many advantages. Senior discounts on McDonald’s extremely hot and delicious coffee, for one. The freedom to filter less of what you say or write for another. And perspective. You can look back across the decades and see with greater clarity personal, historic and culturally important events and trends to which you were oblivious in the moment. Take the ‘70’s, for example. Judging from the music we listened to on the radio – no streaming back in those days – Jesus was really popular. Norman Greenbaum’s Spirit in the Sky, the rock … Read more…

Fortune Tellers or Memory Keepers

by

Photo by Wyron A on Unsplash Here’s a great question to ask the next time you play a round of Would You Rather: Would you rather know the future or remember the past? Think about that for a moment. We’ll come back to it. We just finished 1 Chronicles in our Bible reading plan. Like several other Old Testament books (and the Gospel of Matthew), it begins with what looks like the contact list on your smart phone – a bunch of names. The first one even starts with an “A” – Adam. A decade ago, I would have said it reads like … Read more…