It is not easy to move through the developmental stages of life. Early on, we tend to cling to the comforts of the present. This is the reason why children sometimes have to be prodded to move ahead and grow up. During the school years and into adolescence, we often want to run ahead to …
Monthly Archives: April 2010
It’s Sunday Again: True Wisdom
Today I am preaching from Matthew 6:19-24. This small text from the wisdom of the Sermon on the Mount provides guidance for life–and is about more than our money. This is a text about life. In preaching and in life, few tasks are more difficult than discerning what matters, what is important, and to what …
Making Announcements
Most of the time, there is a lot of room for improvement in the way announcements are done. Announcements are often done poorly down at the church (and in other places!). Announcements, especially at the end of an assembly or meeting, are not the time to say hello and greet people, not the time to …
Ministers and Taxes–Parsonage Allowance
Earlier this month, another legal challenge was filed which challenges the government’s provision of a “parsonage allowance” for ministers. As ministers (and churches) make plans for the future–both in church budgets and minister’s housing arrangements, this challenge should be watched. Opening briefs were filed with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco in …
Ministers and Taxes
As promised, here is the link to new article about ministers and taxes. Now is the time to take appropriate steps to make next year’s tax season less “taxing”. Here is help for both churches and ministers who want a basic understanding of the steps in constructing the minister’s pay package for maximum benefit to …
Half-Million Dollar Truck
With tax day past, it’s time to think about how to make next year’s tax day less taxing, and how to make a little more progress toward retirement. I am working on an article about ministers and taxes, and will either post the article as a blog or note when the article is available. Today …
Clay Michael Young
Yesterday at 12:39 p.m. Clay Michael Young arrived, our sixth grandchild and third grandson. He weighed 2830 grams (2.83 kg = 6 pounds, 3.8 ounces), and was 47.62 cm long (18 3/4 inches). He is named for my father and paternal grandfather, and has his father’s name as a middle name. He joins his big …
Church Celebrates Anniversary
Last Sunday (Easter), the Siempre Familia church in Fort Worth celebrated their anniversary with 250 in attendance. This church plant is mostly staffed by Baxter graduates, and is a Continent of Great Cities effort. The church meets in what was previously the Rosemont church building. The amazing thing about this news is that it was …
Mourning the Passing of EASTER
As Easter approaches, I mourn the passing of the EASTER I knew as a youth. Our world celebrates Easter but does not celebrate EASTER! When I was a boy, we had EASTER! We got up early for sunrise services, came home for a special breakfast, and then went to church—which always went longer on EASTER, …