Isn’t it strange? I can remember someone’s name from elementary school and for the life of me can’t seem to remember the name of a certain person at church. I really don’t know why I seem to remember some of the things I do. For instance: I remember Prentice Meador calling me one time and… Continue reading What I Want to Remember
Category: Church
Who Has Influenced You?
Tomorrow afternoon, we will go to Oklahoma City to see our younger daughter who will be returning to the university (Oklahoma Christian University) after being away for about four months in their study abroad program. She has been to China, Japan, New Zealand, and Australia. For one month, she lived with a wonderful Japanese family… Continue reading Who Has Influenced You?
Beware of Deadly Dullness
I’ve seen it happen again and again. I pray that by the grace of God, I will never be a part of this. I’ve seen something die in Christian people. I’ve seen men and women lose their joy, their fire, and their passion for Jesus. Usually this is a slow process that happens over… Continue reading Beware of Deadly Dullness
Where Do You Find The Power?
Think for a moment about what it means to feel overwhelmed. Yesterday, I had the privilege of listening to Brian McLaren at Truett Seminary (Baylor University) do a question-and-answer session with Truett students. Many of his remarks dealt with very serious and large global problems. After several points, he said, "And if that doesn’t completely… Continue reading Where Do You Find The Power?
Madness
This morning I began reading Calvin Miller’s little book O Shepherd Where Art Thou? A short book, but it is already causing me to think. Miller reminds all of us of the importance of pastoral care within a church. As I read the book, I also thought about John Frye’s series "The Joy of Mini-Church"… Continue reading Madness
Response: Planning Messages (Part 2)
About a week ago, I posted some reflections on planning messages for Sunday AM. I usually do this during the months of June and July of each year. The first post is here. (I suspect that the following will only make sense if you have read the first post.) 6. Planning for a year is… Continue reading Response: Planning Messages (Part 2)
Response: Planning Messages (Part 1)
This post is a response to a comment by Frank who asked me recently to elaborate on how I plan my preaching/teaching over the next year. I decided to answer this in a post because it gives me the opportunity to think through this. Every July, I am gone. I take two weeks of vacation… Continue reading Response: Planning Messages (Part 1)
What Do People See?
What do people really see when they visit our church? Do we realize what they see? I have been reading an interesting book this week, co-authored by Jim Henderson and Matt Casper. The title of the book is Jim & Casper Go To Church. The book is a conversation between the two as they visit… Continue reading What Do People See?
What Do You Really Like About Your Church?
Perhaps you heard about the coyote that last week walked into a downtown Chicago Quizno’s (a sandwich shop) and sat down in front of the drink machine. Startled customers calmly made their way out of the restaurant. An hour later, animal control picked up the coyote and took him away. I suspect that when Quizno’s… Continue reading What Do You Really Like About Your Church?
A Conversation with Two Women
Yesterday, I had a telephone conversation with two women. This sounds like no big deal. It was, however, a big deal to me. These two women were my daughters. Now I usually don’t think of my daughters as two women. I think of them first as my daughters. I often think of them as girls… Continue reading A Conversation with Two Women