I like to tell people that our congregation is growing more focused and faithful. But the truth is, we are simply growing smaller. Even though new people are consistently joining in our ministry, numerically, we are losing ground. I’m sometimes tempted to find comfort in the fact that other congregations are growing smaller too, and many […]
Are you eaten up with anger?
Anger seldom shows up these days. At least the good kind. The good kind of anger enables hope to flourish, because it can remove the scales from our eyes so that we can see the things that are wrong with the world. And that kind of anger is the first step toward finding the courage to set things right. […]
Still Want to Be Like Him
Shortly before his death in 2001, I went with some friends to hear Chet Atkins perform in a small venue in downtown Nashville. The raw honesty of the words he sang that night, coupled with the power of his guitar, transfixed those of us lucky enough to be there. Among the songs he played was one that […]
5 Keys to Remember When You Disagree
A couple of years ago, I walked into the sanctuary and found two people arguing about a banner. They simply could not agree on whether or not the banner was straight. They asked for my help. And that’s how two ways to align a banner became three. The person holding the pole that held the banner’s string would look […]
God and the Pro-Gay Christian(s)
“You’re a pro-sodomy false teacher.” That was the title another pastor gave me in 1996. As I read the very public words he had written, fear sliced through me, and I worried whether I would survive the charge. Was my time as a pastor ending? It didn’t. I continued in the same congregation who knew and loved […]
Your death in war shaped a lifetime of peace
On this Memorial Day, I remember you. That seems strange, because I struggle to recall your name and have never known your face. But because my father remembers you, I am thinking of you this day. You fought with him in France more than 70 years ago. You became his friend. And, while my father returned home from the war, you were killed […]