Think About It

The other day I was driving to work and noticed something interesting. Right in front of me was a nice looking, powerful Corvette. I mean it had all the bells and whistles that a $100,000 car should have. It was ready to roll! However, right in front of it was a rather common looking utilitarian vehicle driving slowly. I really don’t remember much about the car other than it was dictating the speed of the ‘Vette. There was nowhere for the sports car to go, so all that power went untapped because of what was leading it. As I followed behind these two vehicles I got to thinking about leadership. How many of us who serve as leaders are actually holding back the talented people who are coming up behind us? Since we are in positions of authority, we set the tone for the organization and, for whatever reason, we are limiting the potential of people who are raring to go! I understand that without some sort of guidance some movers and shakers can do things that put them (or us) in j...

One of the blessings of doing these little daily thoughts is that I get people sending me their own insights. I had one show up in my inbox the other day that reminded me, “An umbrella cannot stop the rain, but it allows us to stand in the rain. Faith in God may not remove our trials, but it gives us strength to overcome them.”. As I pondered this observation, I was led to a discussion that people often have about trauma and crisis. The issue is often broken down this way, “How can a loving God allow bad things to happen to good people?”. There are all kinds of answers to this question – some make sense, while others just seem to muddy the waters. Yet, as I think about this, there are two things that come to mind. First, bad things happen to all kinds of people. They always have and they always will. God has never promised to put a hedge around believers and shelter them from the nature of living in sin-filled world. However, it is the second reality that makes Christianity a...

What is your talent? The first danger of starting with this question is that too many people will just keep reading on without stopping to answer the question. So, I repeat, what is your talent? What can you do well? The second problem with this question is that there are people who will say, “I don’t do anything special. I’m not talented.”. The problem with this response isn’t that it’s true, the real issue is that it just isn’t thought out. We all have skills that can be used to benefit others. We may not all have the ability to make millions of dollars or sing beautiful songs or write inspiring poems – but we can all do something. Maybe it is the gift to fix an air conditioner or make a scrumptious meal or build someone’s spirit with a kind word. Maybe we have the ability to sit with an older person whose friends have all passed away or help someone who is confused by the Medicare process. Maybe we can babysit for a young mother or nail up trim on a Habitat For Humanity h...

If I were asked in public, I would probably like to say that I would just like to be an Average Joe. I don’t want to receive any favors and I reject the idea of desiring a life of privilege. I just want to be that common guy who keeps plugging away, heading toward a goal. That sounds good, doesn’t it! However, if you were to ask me in private if I would like to live the good life, I would be happy to sign up! It would be nice to enjoy the benefits of high society – to be in the upper echelon. It would be great to have the pedigree (and the benefits) that come from either royalty or influence. Yes, I would like to have what others have and live the way the “haves” live. Now, you might be thinking, “That’ll never happen” (and if you are talking about this life, you are correct). My physical family is about as plain as we can get. However, I am a member of another family that lives in “tall cotton”. When Peter describes Christians he says, “But you are a chosen race, a royal p...

Do you believe that life is bad? Are you convinced that we are living in an awful time that is designed to make us miserable? Do you think that evil is succeeding in making this world a difficult place to live? Well, welcome to the club! I believe that our generation has succeeded in emphasizing the sorry state of affairs; however, what we fail to realize is that it always been that way. From the first sin, satan has staked his claim as leader of the unfaithful. Now, while all of this is true, there is also hope. When Paul began his letter to the Galatians he did so with this assurance, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen.” (Galatians 1:3-5). Doesn’t this analysis of the world sound like it could have been written today? Yet, if that is true, the hope for the church should be...

I just had one of my apps remind me that this time of year in 2019 I was in Wichita, Kansas. As I read that, my mind went back to that trip. To me what was memorable was that I was just a few weeks removed from heart surgery. I was blessed to have healed as quickly as I did and was able to go to Wichita and participate in a week-long training. Who would have thought that a little over six months later, I would be spending more of my time concerned about another health issue that seemed to dwarf my quintuple by-pass surgery? Compared to my pre-occupation with the COVID pandemic, my stay in ICU was a breeze. As I thought back to the last three years, I was reminded that we can do one of two things. We can either be thankful for how far we have come, or we can be afraid of where we are going. We can look back and enjoy our victories or we can lament the battles that await us. I have to admit, I allowed others to dictate many of my responses to the COVID issue – and that had a ne...

Where are you going to be this weekend? A couple of years ago, many of us would have responded that we would be at home avoiding the spread of the virus. Not many months before that, many of would have said we’d be out traveling or, in some other way, enjoying the freedom of summertime. Either way – whether we were staying away from people or wading into the crowds – an interesting follow-up question might be, “Will you spend a part of your weekend attending a worship service?”. One of the great things about the freedom of being Americans is our ability to choose how and where to worship God, but one of the challenges of this freedom is that we can come to take it for granted. We know that we are free to do it, so it may not be as big of a deal to us than it might be some who live in areas where the practice of this privilege is precarious at best. So, that brings us back to today? What are you going to be doing this weekend? I hope that it will include some fun stuff, but I a...