I love the smell of rain, especially when mixed with the ionized air of a thunderstorm. I enjoy the sound of the falling sheets of water, and the raindrops on the roof. Watching them dance on the road, or falling on the leaves, pausing only a moment before continuing their descent to the ground inspires awe at the vast simplicity of nature’s beauty, and God’s […]
“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.” – Ephesians 1:18-19 NIV God finds unexpected ways to get your attention, and if you are willing, your awareness Divine presence […]
As election day draws closer, the aggressive nature of the campaign continues to escalate. There is a steady stream of venom spoken in the public sphere. A parade of television and radio messages declare the litany of reasons why opposing candidates are the apparent incarnation of evil. Every mistake is magnified and used to demonize the opposition, which inspires a multitude of loyal followers to […]
“Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare.” – Isaiah 55:2 I’ve read Isaiah 55 numerous times and even reflected on the blessings God gives to those who seek him. Earlier this week, however, as I read through this […]
Tomorrow is Pentecost. It is also two weeks since I announced to the congregation I serve that a change in pastoral leadership is coming. As you can imagine, accepting the coming change is a difficult thing. Some people are ready to move forward while others are still trying to adjust to the news. For many this time simply feels like chaos, and questions about the […]
As we continue to prepare for the upcoming move, we face that challenge of challenges – finding boxes. It is amazing how many you need to move a houseful of belongings, especially if you are a pastor with a healthy library. After commenting on Facebook about finding a particularly large number of good boxes, a friend commented, “Nothing like moving to make one appreciate the […]
Last night, a band of dangerous thunderstorms moved through our area and brought with them high winds and tornados. It was a harrowing time for some people and the damage while isolated, was significant. As is typical of these times of natural destruction, the pain and destruction were deemed, “an act of God,” by media and others. It is interesting that God gets the blame […]
“In the coming days, I will be sharing some suggestions to help encourage and empower your study.” I remember writing those words, surprisingly weeks ago. I would love to tell you that my time was filled with study; digging into great spiritual depth, but that would be a lie. In the days that followed my last post, church life, family life, even community life became amazingly […]
“I don’t want to study!” I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard those words, and how many times I said them. There are times when all of us would rather not expend the metal effort to take in more information. Sometimes we feel too tired or maybe the material does not excite us, but whatever the reason, we don’t feel like learning any […]
Yesterday, I gave a presentation to the pastors of the District on ways to use technology to move the church’s ministry beyond its walls and even to the uttermost parts of the earth. The program went well and the discussion that followed was very encouraging. We even decided to offer three more follow-up seminars to help with the implementation of some of the methods we […]