For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s (Romans 14:8). My panting precedes me. The air is cold as I walk this morning. It stings my lungs as I draw it in…
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God With Us
The Bible is a fascinating collage of story and song, wisdom and rules, promises and prophecy, letters and news and history, and so much more. All of it is God’s Word, an assorted composition that touches the ordinary and extraordinary of life. Mysteriously united by the Holy Spirit, it is God’s transforming revelation to us. …
Read moreThe Other Way
It’s been a busy summer of traveling. Road trips over the last three months have taken me, and the family, on ministry adventures to Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Illinois, Missouri, and North Dakota. It was fun and rewarding, but put more miles in our old Pontiac than I care to count. A constant companion on these…
Read moreWhat Should I Do?
A friend, a loved one, a church member has strayed off course, going their own way, neglecting or rejecting the good they’ve known. How can I help? What should I do? Every pastor, parent, and person will at some point be faced with this challenge. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve asked these questions…
Read moreAlice Takes the Wheel
I’ll never forget the time a few friends and I taught Alice how to drive. But I’m a little reluctant to tell the tale, even after all these years. You’ll see why. How Alice actually came to be adopted by my church youth group is beyond memory. Perhaps it was because this sweet little old…
Read moreWhen I’m Weak
My friend Scott has Parkinson’s disease. He is only in his fifties, but the tremors are getting bad. Recently, Scott went to New York City to explore alternative treatments. When he returned, we visited — mainly about his strange encounter at New York’s LaGuardia airport. As Scott made his way to the United Airlines terminal,…
Read moreTake Care!
I live in a rural and fairly homogenous Midwest community, but recently I learned that a close-knit community book club was close to folding over the cultural and political strife gripping the nation. Increasingly among friends and neighbors, cracks of disagreement are yawning into canyons of division. Without resorting to all the outrage posts all…
Read moreSowing Uncommon Grace
It was just an ordinary Wednesday night Bible study. The faithful — thirteen in all — came to the church at 110 Calhoun Street to discuss Mark 4, the parable of the sower. There, Jesus taught that just as the sower scatters seed that falls on both good and bad soil, so when the good…
Read moreThe Biggest Little Word
The first Bible verse I recall memorizing was Romans 8:28. It wasn’t my doing. I was only 6 or 7 years old and attending a weeklong church conference with my family. A lady named Dorothy was in charge of the children’s ministry that week. We worked hard — with Dorothy’s unwavering patience and guidance —…
Read morePrayer for the Pastor
You’ve probably heard. October is Pastor Appreciation Month. But you don’t have to limit your support to just one month of the year. Your pastor needs your prayers every day. As the Now What? feature story, “Broken to Serve,” movingly illustrates, while it is common to put our pastors on a pedestal as super-spiritual and…
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