Think About It

I did something yesterday I haven’t done much of – I participated in an online worship service. As you might imagine, as a minister, I don’t get much of an opportunity to stay home and worship through a computer screen, but due to a Winter Storm Warning, we decided to cancel the activities at the church building and do everything online. While it was a bit of a hassle getting ready, it was kind of nice sitting in my nice warm office tuned into what was being broadcast. I didn’t have to dress up. I could sip on my coffee. If I get distracted I could stop and rewind – or if I really wanted to enjoy the conveniences, I could fast forward thought the parts I didn’t like or didn’t feel applied to me. I can see the appeal of online church. Now, while I am thankful we had this option yesterday (and have had it for the last several months) I think it is important that we don’t allow it to become a spiritual crutch for us. Before too long, I believe we will be in a position to start saf...

Forgiveness is an incredible principle. Knowing that God, through His Son, has forgiven us of our sins is one of the most precious thoughts we can have. Feeling free and alive because we are no longer under Divine condemnation is one of the greatest sentiments there is. Now, while all of this brings us great comfort, it should also provide direction for our lives. God’s forgiveness does not give us a license for lusciousness; rather, it should transform us into good people. After discussing the greatness of God’s grace, the Apostle Paul observed, “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.” (Romans 6:12-13). Forgiveness is necessary, but righteousness is important as well. As believers, let’s make sure we put our past behind us – not ju...

Have you ever dreaded talking to someone? You may have played it over and over in your mind and landed on the assumption that the discussions were going to be difficult so you either delayed the conversation or worried yourself sick. Then, when you gathered up the courage, you met with them and things went okay. It ended up not be a problem at all. While that can be a great relief, the fact remains that a lot of time was wasted worrying about something that didn’t matter. So how do we avoid the headaches? The simple answer is that we need to be willing to talk to people. Rather than dreading those types of conversations, we should be willing to be open and honest with each other and work together to resolve our differences or even potential problems. Instead of fearing what might happen, let’s take the initiative to communicate. Is there someone we are avoiding because the conversation might turn out to be difficult? Let’s take it upon ourselves to pick up the phone or wal...

One of the things that tends to bother me these days is how much foolishness there is in the world. While we live in an era of great advancements, too often it seems like the things that get the most attention are those that make the least amount of difference. While this has a tendency to keep us derailed, arguments over insignificant things also have the capacity to create barriers that prevent us from being able to agree in complex discussions. If we get crossways over something silly, there is a chance that we won’t be able to have enough of a relationship to work through things of importance. The other day I was reading through the Proverbs and came across this bit of wisdom, “The tongue of the wise makes knowledge acceptable, but the mouth of fools spouts folly.” (Proverbs 15:2). When we invest our time in things that matter and when we apply wisdom to those discussions we are going to make progress – not only in our topics of discussion, but also in our relationships. Let...

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...