Think About It

I have never really done much acting. I am sure that I was in an elementary school play or two and I appeared in a small part in an adult musical (no, I didn’t sing), but going to the movies is about as much theater as I have done. However, I was watching a show lately where they were discussing the secret to becoming good at improvisation in acting and they said that it is all about saying “Yes”. Improv is keeping the flow going by building on something that someone has already said or done. It is about starting where the discussion is and moving forward. Since that is about all I know about this topic, I will stop there and shift gears toward another topic, leadership. You see, often leadership is also about saying “yes” and moving forward. It goes without saying that there are going to be times when leaders have to stop something before it crashes, but good leaders are the ones who help people move forward by affirming their development and helping them to grow. Sure, leaders...

One of the most chilling parts of the Bible is found in a parable of Jesus. In Matthew 25, Jesus tells the story often called the Parable of the Sheep and Goats. Basically, the story revolves around a judgement where the King (also called the Son of Man) assesses the fate of humanity. To one group He promises the blessing of an inheritance from His Father; to the other, it is the curse of an eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. While this seems to make sense to me, it is the basis of the distinction that captures my attention. The thing that distinguishes the good from the bad is a willingness to help out those in need. After listing a variety of opportunities to reach out to people – such as feeding the hungry, welcoming strangers and visiting the sick or imprisoned – the Judge says that reward and punishment will be granted to those who help others in need. The haunting statement to me is, “The King will answer and stay to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the exten...

I hadn’t seen my granddaughters in a few weeks when I got the chance to visit with them (and their mother) a few days ago. As we walked into the restaurant the girls said, “Grandpa, come sit by me.”. As you might expect this filled my heart with joy and even if we wouldn’t have done anything else, it would have made the trip worthwhile. They were unphased by COVID protocol nor weeks of being distanced – they wanted to be around me and took the initiative to express it. As I thought about last weekend, I was reminded of how one of the casualties of 2020 was closeness. Distancing has become so engrained in us that it is going to take a while to recapture a willingness to get close again. While this is obvious in our physical proximity, I think it will take us a while to get back into investing in close interpersonal relationships. Whether it is standing around making small talk or making the time to engage in heart-to-heart conversations, many of us are going to have to force ourse...

I like the Bible. Now that should be an obvious statement that all of us could make, but what I mean by my observation is that in addition to acknowledging its principles, I like the literature in the Bible. There are several differ literary styles in the Good Book, but one that fascinates me is the use of comparisons and contrasts – sometimes by the same writers and, other times, by different authors. The other day I was involved in a study that was discussing I Peter 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead …”. The teacher challenged us to analyze this and contrast this living hope with something that might be described as dead hope. The first thing that came to mind was another passage, Matthew 23:27-28, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful,...

Throughout the years, the phrase United States of America has carried with it a very poignant message. Near the end of the 18th Century, it conveyed an idea that several independent “colonies” were willing to band together in a like-minded pursuit. In the 1870s, this title meant that the states – even those battered and bruise by a Civil War – were willing to set aside their differences and work toward a becoming a world leader. Through the years, the words “United States of America”, have meant more than an identifying name on a map. It described a group of people who were willing to come together for the betterment of its citizens and the world. As we stand at the crossroads of a new administration, I hope that we can breathe new life back into the words “United” States of America. We have a lot of issues facing our nation today and it has become quite obvious that partisan factionalism is not the answer to overcoming them. We cannot view other citizens as the enemy and expe...

Have you ever wondered what makes someone an expert? Years ago, the joke was that an expert was someone who owned a briefcase and was at least 100 miles away from home. Through the years, maybe a modern expert is someone who has their own website and PowerPoint presentation. Expertise is often a subjective term applied by those who find someone who can defend their cause. An increasingly used phrase these days is, “According to an expert …”; but too often their credentials are never posted for evaluation or vetted for acceptance. Even if someone has the credentials, that doesn’t mean that their ability is on a par with their academic success. Sure, there are a lot of expects out there, but do they really know what they are talking about? The reason I bring this up is not (necessarily) to criticize modern day reliance on experts, rather it is to highlight the one true expert on human life. Thousands of years ago, our Lord was praised, “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to rec...

On August 28, 1963 Martin Luther King delivered an inspirational speech in Washington D. C. In what has been called his “I Have A Dream” Speech”, King laid out his vision for a free and united nation. After describing freedom, Dr. King noted, “And when this happens, and when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: ‘Free at last. Free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last.’” Through the years, I have thought a lot about this speech and am continually drawn to its imagery of children walking hand in hand in a free society. As I reflect on the speech almost sixty years later, I think our children have made advancements in unity, but I am not too sure about us big people. I understand th...