The tree in this picture is growing in our backyard.
I call it our Christmas pine.
I named it that because it was left on our front porch a few years ago.
No name.
No note.
Just a simple Christmas wish.
An unsolicited Christmas blessing that provides joy, daily.…
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The lyrics of the sacred song fly through celestial air. Like a volleyball in a winner-take-all championship match, they are launched to and fro.
Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. they go.
These are no lightweight lyrics.
No, these lyrics are stout – laden with a density befitting the Divine!…
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C.S. Lewis, in Mere Christianity, suggests that we are a people of deep and unending desire. He further states that our unending quest for satisfaction reveals a deeper and often confounding truth about what it means to be human!
“If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. If none of my earthly pleasures satisfy it, that does not prove that the universe is a fraud. Probably earthly pleasures were never meant…I Know What You Did Last Summer, a favorite slasher/horror movie of the late 90s, grossed over 100 million at the box office.
The revenue and popularity generated by the original were immense. So much so that they decided to follow it up with two sequels.
As always, Hollywood greed crowded out good judgment. The follow-ups were flops.
But, as far as horror movies go, the original still gets strong reviews among regular folk like you and me.
I know that many of my readers probably aren’t into horror …
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For the past few months, I’ve focused on what I call Transforming Pastoral Ministry.
In this specific series of post, I am attempting to propose a new way for pastors and leaders to serve and minister to the church.
It’s a way that’s built around a host of Pillars tethered to a particular cluster of Rhythms!
Remember, these Pillars are the what of pastoral ministry.
By that, I mean that these five areas are the principal areas of concern for any ministry. …
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The past couple of weeks, I have been addressing the role of preaching within the local church. Specifically about the how and why of preaching more than the what of preaching.
This preaching-focus is connected to one of the primary roles (or Pillars) pastors must fulfill to be effective in ministry. In the Transforming Pastoral Ministry and Leadership model I am offering, this is Pillar #4: Preaching, Teaching, and Worship.
I am also suggesting that we learn to practice the art/craft of preaching much like a Curator practice the art/craft …
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Years ago I was trained under the renowned Bible-preaching teacher, Haddon Robinson. He taught an entire generation of preachers to focus on Big-idea preaching. That means that our goal is to communicate one main idea. During that time, it was common for many preachers to offer multiple opinions on a wide variety of topics, week in and week out.
Dr. Robinson pushed back against that trend as he encouraged preachers to develop their sermon around the main thought expressed in the text (or passage).
Robinson’s book, Biblical Preaching, continues to …
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I have the privilege of preaching every Sunday.
Yes.
It is a privilege!
After all, I get to present ideas on a wide range of topics lifted from the most popular book in the history of humankind.
That book, of course, is the Bible.
Two years ago, I was encouraged by a mentor to try preaching one Sunday without notes. I still remember shuddering when he recommended it.…
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Several years ago I attended a funeral for a dear friend who lived and ministered in our community for decades.
And, …
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One of my favorite holiday movies, that I often watch right smack in the middle of the Christmas season, is The Family Man.
I’m a big fan of the cast, which includes Nicholas Cage, Tea Leoni, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Piven, and Saul Rubinek.
But more than the cast, it’s the storyline that gets me.
Every.
Single.
Time.
A Glimpse of What’s PossibleHere is the gist: single, billionaire playboy (Cage) falls asleep one lonely Christmas Eve night in his upscale NYC apartment. The next morning (Christmas Day) he wakes up …
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