Think About It

What is the key to rebuilding trust in our community? Over the last few years, we have done an effective job of tearing ourselves apart. From disparate politic views to response to community violence to strong feelings about public health we have done a good job of highlighting what separates us. News outlets, social media, public comments and even individual remarks have driven wedges between us. Questions such as “what is truth” or “who can you trust” have challenged philosophies and friendships. I have been around for quite a while and, while I can’t say that we haven’t ever been this far apart, I can say that we aren’t closing the gap on togetherness at any great speed! So, back to the original question – how can we rebuild trust in our community? While there are a variety of community programs out there, I think that the thing that can best bring us together is to be together. It is much harder to dislike and distrust people who sit across the table from us. There may be v...

While none of us are sure of what to expect in the next phase of the pandemic (or have we moved to an endemic mindset), one thing is for certain – there have been a lot of casualties – however, not all of the losses are recorded in the fatality and hospitalization reports. I was in a meeting last week that was hosted by our local Health Department. As we reviewed where we had been, it was painfully obvious that people have been forever changed by the last two years. The losses suffered by those who contracted the disease have been well-documented, but the untold story is the pain suffered by those who battled the illness. Whether it was those who were on the frontlines or those who managed community responses, there are a lot of people who will never be the same. The exhaustion, physical threats, denigration, long hours and helplessness took its toll on good people who just wanted to help. By doing what they saw as the right things, they lost a bit of themselves. I know a lot h...

People are fickle. We like what we like when we like it … but just because we like something today doesn’t mean that it will always be important to us. We cannot avoid peer pressure and social influence, but there are times when we just have to dig in our heels and firmly plant our feet on our foundational principles. The reason I bring this up is something that is being played out all around the world this weekend when several Christian groups will honor Palm Sunday. The remembrance is more than just giving children a palm frond (that many of them will leave in the auditorium), it is a reminder of how quickly people can lose focus. Matthew records Jerusalem’s reaction to Jesus by observing, “Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road. The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in t...

Finally! Today is Opening Day for Major League Baseball. After a couple of years of hesitancy – and a winter of discontent – it is time to throw out the first pitch. I like the game of baseball for a lot of reasons, but one of the best things about Opening Day is that, today, everyone is in a pennant race. Everyone has the same chance of making the World Series as every other team. Within a week (a certainly after a month) several teams will come face-to-face with the cold hard fact that the hype was just that; but today, this could be our year. What if we approached every day the way we look at Opening Day? What if we got up each morning and thought, “This is going to be my day!”. How would our lives and attitudes change if we experienced hope at the beginning of each day? The reality is that each Major League team will have to endure a 162-game schedule before they get to reset, but the great thing about people is that we get to start anew each and every day! What kind of da...

I grew up in a faith tradition that asserted there are five acts of worship that should be conducted during our worship services: singing, praying, preaching, observing the Lord’s Supper and giving. These five acts of worship were so ingrained in us that when the pandemic started influencing the way we conducted worship (even having to do it online) we did everything we could to incorporate them into each of our gathering. Interestingly, we were able to address four of the five without much trouble – but the most challenging was “giving”. When we are separated from each other how do we follow through with Paul’s direction, “On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come.” (I Corinthians 16:2)? In all honesty, I was a bit worried about this because of the old adage, “out of sight, out of mind”. Yet, I am thrilled to report that, according to most church leaders I visited with, people were faith...

I recently did a sermon about “faith”. The focus of the lesson was that we are all going to believe in something, what will it be? Will we have faith in God and the Bible or in science and humanism? In our own ways, we can find things that tend to support our opinions, but at the end of the day, we will have to have faith in something. As I thought about this lesson, I also got to thinking about another belief – what we will accept about people. We have one of two choices: we can either believe that people are inherently evil and are destined to do bad things whenever they get the chance or we can believe that, for the most part, people are good and kind seeking ways to uplift the people around them. I realize that in each of these basic insights we will have to deal with exceptions to our rules, but how will we set our vision – seeing the good or looking out for the bad? Interestingly, we will end up finding what we are looking for – either good or bad. Being wary of the bad p...

I was a part of a discussion the other night that focused on violence in our community. While there were several good observations about the issue and suggestions designed to address the problem, one that struck me was employment. As the person put it, “How many acts of violence were being done while people were at work?”. Sure, there are isolated incidents of workplace violence; but, for the most part, they are the exceptions rather than the rule. Most violence occurs when people have too much free time so they get into trouble. As I reflected on this, two things came to mind. The first one was from the New Testament passage, “For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies.” (II Thessalonians 3:11). Even though we all need breaks from productive labors from time-to-time, idleness can lead to a lot of issues. The Apostle Paul points out “busybodiedness” here, but he could have just as easily inserted “violen...