I try always to be grateful for the opportunity to find newness and refreshment. I believe God desires us to find in each day its newness–a day we have never seen before, a day we have never experienced before, a day that is a gift from God; a day that will bring new challenges and …
Monthly Archives: July 2010
Celebrating Each Day
It is no easy thing to celebrate each day. Days are filled with challenges, difficulties, and so many little things that they sometimes all run together. It is not easy to take time and relish the full moon illuminating the early morning sky today, the puffy clouds sailing past, the refreshing breeze that says fall …
Interim ministry: A microcosm
Sunday I will begin an interim ministry with the Holmes Road church in Lansing, Michigan. During my years in Christian higher education, I did several interim ministries. Interim ministries are of varying duration, depending on the needs of the local church. The duration of my previous interim ministries has varied from about six weeks (until …
It’s Sunday Again: Amazing
Amazing! No other word says it better! John Newton wrote about “Amazing Grace.” Mark wrote about an amazing man–amazing works and amazing words. Amazing stories! Who is this amazing man? Who is this “Jesus”? Mark leaves no doubt about his answer: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” With power …
Appearance isn’t everything–but it is something!
At the risk of being too political, I share an observation I heard recently: “The biggest problem I have with our president is that he just doesn’t appear presidential.” I recognize that some see it differently, but the person making the statement went on to cite perceptions of rushed judgment, broken promises, reversed decisions, too …
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It’s Sunday Again: “Together Time”
Selective reading! We read verses to support the points we want to make, to reinforce what we already know or what we want to teach. We do not read carefully and openly. We are often too focused and too little aware. There are aspects of well-known verses that we overlook. The early church spent time …
You are Lucky
Are you lucky? Whether your answer is “yes” or “no”, why did you respond as you did? Since I do not particularly like the concept of “luck”, let me rephrase the question. Where do we see the unique blessings of God in our lives? Our grandchildren were with us over the past weekend. One of …
If ministers were like star basketball players….
If ministers were like star basketball players…. minister hires would be announced in public media, including newspapers the success of “the franchise” would be tied to the skill set of the star basketball player the “team” would bellieve that success depended on having one star who could overcome the deficiencies of the rest of the …
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