Lord, teach me. . . .

True independence and freedom can only exist in doing what’s right. –Brigham Young There is always someone willing to tell you: you’re doing it wrong! Most of the time, they really don’t have any authority to say so, but they do it, anyway. As a church, there are as many ways “out there” to “do church” as there are people. Some work; others, not so much. But we keep trying, and wondering why visitors aren’t beating a path to our doors. Recently, hundreds of folks who visited a church and never came back were asked why. What bothered them about the churches they visited? Here are their Top Ten Answers: An unfriendly/ awkward stand-and-greet time; Unfriendly church members/ regulars; Unsafe/ unclean children’s areas; No place to get information about the church; Bad/ out-of-date church website; Poor signage; “Insider” church language; Boring/ bad church services; Members telling guests they’re in the wrong pew; Dirty facilities.   This week, take tim...

A hero can be anyone, even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting a coat around a little boy’s shoulder to let him know the world hadn’t ended. –Batman J We all know them: people who always seem to know just what to do, and they do it. They don’t expect applause or fanfare; they just see a need and they seek to eliminate it, or lessen the pain of the moment. In my mind, these people are true heroes. The Letter to the Hebrews is filled with what amounts to a heroes’ roll call. Moses and Abraham, Rahab, Gideon, Samuel and so many more—so many the author themselves states they haven’t time to name them all—are remembered as folks without whom biblical history would have looked quite different. (In fact, the genealogy that begins Matthew’s gospel has a similar function reminding the reader of the heroic ancestry from which they are descended.) All the unsung heroes are neither biblical—nor historical. They surround us every day, in little ways. Most of th...

If you truly believe in the value of life, you care  about  all of the weakest and most vulnerable members of society.  --Joni Earickson Tada Jesus tells a story of a wealthy man who had such a good harvest, his barns weren’t big enough—so he tore them down and built bigger barns, only to then learn that he would die that night and never be able to enjoy his riches ( Luke 12:13-31 ). It never even occurred to this man that his workers might deserve a little something extra for their families, or that the beggars near the synagogue were going to bed hungry. He couldn’t see beyond his own selfish desires. How much is enough? After the most recent mass shootings, I am left musing about the other meaning of that phrase. How much is enough? How many more lives will be lost before meaningful legislation is passed by those whom we chose to represent our best interests and not those of private corporations? How many excuses will we make that it’s not...

I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge. That myth is more potent than history. That dreams are more powerful than facts. That hope always triumphs over experience.  That laughter is the only cure for grief.  And I believe that love is stronger than death.  –Robert Fulghum Do you remember the story from Genesis where Jacob, exhausted from a day’s travel, lies down, places a stone under his head for a pillow, and has a vivid dream? Angels from God are travelling up and down a twisted ladder into heaven, and God makes some pretty amazing promises to Jacob. (If you want to revisit this story, you will find it in Genesis 28:10-22.) It was a vivid dream, and Jacob remembered it clearly. When he awoke, he knew , without a doubt, that God was speaking to him through his dream. But instead of laughing it off, or pretending it never happened, Jacob took action. First, he took the stone on which he had been sleeping and created an altar to th...