Take it Home, Church!

Read the following list of Scriptural commands and ask yourself, “How well can I obey this commandment in a crowded Sunday morning worship service?” Gal. 5:13 “serve one another” Gal. 6:2 “carry each others’ burdens” Col. 3:16 “teach and admonish one another” Jam. 5:16 “confess your sins to each other and pray for each other” …

Baptisms, Breakfast, and God’s Mission

This morning I enjoyed a wonderful breakfast in Nicaragua with my friends, Tami and Oscar. Oscar directs the mission work of the Baptist Missionary Association for this beautiful Central American country. After our meal, we reminisced about experiences we have shared in the past through mission trips and other events. Our conversation went back to …

Feeding the Sheep to Wolves

I’ve never stood in the midst of a large pasture-tending sheep (the kind that say “baa-baa”). However, I have served as a shepherd of a local church (the kind that say “amen,” “God bless,” and “what time is the pot-luck”). The Bible’s word-picture of the pastor or church leader as a shepherd is powerful. A …

The Most Cherished Moments are the Most Difficult

First baseball practice of the season. Bryce has moved up from tee ball to pitching machine league. As I watched him take infield with the team, I was struck by the absence of Jill. She should have been there with me to cheer him on. It should have been a moment where together we enjoyed …

Church Leadership Requires Two Hands

A friend of mine tried desperately to make his son left-handed. His reasoning was simple: Left-handed pitchers are a treasured commodity in the baseball world. By training his son to be left-handed, he automatically would increase his odds of one day becoming a major league pitcher. As you can imagine, his efforts failed. No matter …

Hope for Families Touched by Suicide

Yesterday I listened to callers on a local radio talk show discuss whether or not suicide was an unpardonable sin. (Whether or not a person can commit suicide and still go to heaven) Its always interesting to me how a subject like this can spark heated discussion among people who ordinarily wouldn’t discuss spiritual things.  …

Behind the Scenes

In large cities, traffic is often monitored and controlled from a central office. Behind the “Authorized Personnel Only” door, controllers watch screens displaying current images and data from traffic cameras and sensors. When they notice congestion building up, they can change the traffic flow in several ways. They may alter how long certain traffic lights …

Forget You Sucker!

In the plant world, a “sucker” is vegetative growth that springs quickly from the root system. Bypassing the main trunk, suckers rob the entire plant of valuable minerals and nutrients. The worst part is that although suckers may bear leaves, they do not bear fruit. I wonder if Jesus had these suckers in mind when …