People like T. M. Moore and Tim Witmer have done the church a great service in recent years by drawing attention to the shepherding role of God’s leaders. Twenty years ago I used T. M.’s workbook on Shepherding God’s Flock, reviewing for my elders the design of a shepherd in the model of Christ […]
Continue Reading... Comments Off on Shepherding – the rest of the storyJames has an interesting take on trials. He tells us that we are to consider it all joy when we face them. Whatever shape or size the trial takes, we are to meet it with joy and expectation. Why? Because we “know” the adversity is a kiln to the strengthening of our faith and […]
Continue Reading... Comments Off on When Bad Things Happen to God’s PeopleI’ve been in a full-leg brace for several weeks. I wiped out on ice, went flying in the air with my hands full and landed on the edge of my walkway step outside my home. The result was a strained and partially-torn quadriceps muscle. The good news is that it was not a complete […]
Continue Reading... Comments Off on Whether Kelly or ShaquilleIt was at a CCEF conference on “Sex Matters” that I heard a speaker give one of the most perceptive approaches to celibacy in singleness that I had heard to date. She said two things that struck me. One, she said we often look at singleness as a problem to be solved rather than […]
Continue Reading... Comments Off on In the Name of GraceChildren at my church made a “wordless” gospel bracelet as a project. It consisted of five beads threaded onto a suede strap and tied off to make a bracelet. The beads were different colors, organized to tell a story. BLACK – All have sinned RED – Jesus’ died for sinners WHITE – Jesus washes […]
Continue Reading... Comments Off on Wordless WitnessI’ve heard pastors say that if people really knew what was in their hearts, they would not want them as their pastor. I can attest that pastors sin with the best of them. Lust and greed and envy and all sorts of sin roam dangerously in their hearts. Pastors don’t minister on the basis […]
Continue Reading... Comments Off on My Funeral is Back OnI have a friend at the YMCA. Dave is in his mid-60s. We’re both regular at the Y, so our paths cross fairly often. We were talking last week and he told me he was having trouble seeing to the front of his church. He sits all the way in the back, so he […]
Continue Reading... Comments Off on Cataracts of UnbeliefKnowing what to say to someone in grief is invariably a tricky endeavor. We want to express sympathy without sounding cliché, and certainly without saying something insensitive. That challenge rises to another level when it comes to extending comfort to someone who is perhaps religious but not a professed Christian, nor was the one […]
Continue Reading... Comments Off on How do we comfort the non-Christian in grief?I have a love-hate relationship with my GPS. Perhaps trust-mistrust is a better way to put it. Either way, we have a problem. Since I am directionally-challenged, I love my GPS. She (and her British accent) have gotten me where I need to go many times. When I ignored her instructions, she has gotten […]
Continue Reading... Comments Off on Uncommon SenseIt’s my practice to read through the Bible every year. This year holds two twists for me. One, I intend to use the King James Version, something I have never done. I’d like to experience the artistry of the KJV. Plus, I think the language variations will slow me down to think about and […]
Continue Reading... Comments Off on Law without Legalism