The appraiser was at the house Monday–nice fellow, talkative. Interested in my ministry–when he found out I was moving to McAlester, he encouraged me to do lots of “field work” on the lakes and in the deer stands. He genuinely appreciated my desire to work in the trenches (his terminology), even though he clearly understood …
Monthly Archives: September 2008
Losing the Connection
My computer has a problem. When it is inactive for even a brief period of time, it loses its DSL connection. Making sure it is connected before taking a few minutes for another project or activity doesn’t help. One of my elders was in my office between Bible class and worship last Sunday. We needed to …
Still Mad After 40 Years
My sister recently attended her high school class reunion—class of ‘68. Class reunions are interesting. My view on class reunions is this: “Everyone should attend a class reunion or two to find out that all the stuff that was a part of high school really wasn’t serious.” My sister laughed at my statement and proceeded …
My 20000 Day Checkup!
I went to the doctor last week. I jokingly told people it was my 20000 day checkup. You can figure out about how old I am! (If you’re really curious, 20000 is a rounded number–it’s really almost 22000 days.) Nothing out of the ordinary. I watched the doctor write on my chart–well man. I presume …
Moving!
[Note: perhaps you’ve noticed that my blogging has slowed a bit. Today’s thoughts will provide some explanation.] We’re moving again–about 10 days ago we purchased a house in McAlester and almost immediately succeeded in selling our home in Edmond. (God is good!) The only problem is that the buyers want to close at the end …
Church Culture-I
What is the culture of the church where you attend? Church culture is constructed of the same basic building blocks as any other shared culture, whether national, organizational, business, school, or other community of assembled people. What is the world view? What are the shared understandings? What are the prevailing attitudes? What are the shared …
The Kingdom of Heaven is Like….
A modern parable: The kingdom of God is like a diamond. Jesus never said it that way, but perhaps people in the first century weren’t as aware of diamonds as we are today. Jesus instead said, “like a pearl of great price.” What lessons could we glean if we were to compare the kingdom of heaven to …
A Centennial Celebration
I have celebrated a few centennials in my almost 20000 days. The first I remember is the Kansas Centennial in 1961. While Jan and I were working with the Fort Gibson church, that church celebrated 1000 months–83+ years. This weekend the church in McAlester is celebrating 100 years of history. Who are we? We are …
Bridge to somewhere, or bridge to nowhere?
In the midst of the national controversy about the Alaskan “bridge to nowhere,” I was reminded of the illustration that pictures a sermon as a bridge from one shore (the word of God) to another shore (human experience or culture). I couldn’t help but ask myself about my recent sermons, “Were they a bridge to somewhere, or …
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“unChristian”
All of us know deep down inside that Christians are supposed to represent Christ in this world. But according to some recent research, something has gone terribly wrong, especially among the young adults in our society. Using descriptions like “hypocritical,” “insensitive,” and “judgmental,” young Americans share an impression of Christianity that is nothing short of …