A couple weeks ago I was blessed to spend a week, to use our guide’s term, in the Heartland. The Heartland refers to the geographical area surrounding the Jordan River, Dead Sea, and Sea of Galilee. It includes present day Israel and Palestine. It is where Jesus was born, lived, and did ministry while on […]
A couple weeks ago, Pastor Carl Lentz, from Hillsong New York, was on the day-time show “The View”. He was asked point blank if abortion was a sin. Lentz replied, “That’s the kind of conversation we would have finding out your story, where you’re from, what you believe … God’s the judge. People have to […]
Walking through Walmart, a child, about 7 years old, ran up and gave me the biggest hug ever!! Now this happens in Church on a somewhat regular basis—with a couple kids in particular—and I love it!! The difference here is Walmart though; I had no clue who this child was!! It filled my heart with […]
A year ago, Mechanicsville Church of Christ (MCC) went to Mechanicsville Elementary School (MES) for a service day. MES had a learning garden that became over grown and was in terrible condition. We pulled up grass and weeds, put new weed blocker down, and mulch! It was great! It was fun and at the end […]
I grew up a preacher’s kid. I have several friends who grew up as a preacher’s kid as well and swore they would be homeless before going into ministry. Not me. I decided my freshman year of high school to go into ministry. My dad was great about showing me a little more behind the […]
“How does that make you feel?” This phrase is often used, not by real counselors, but Hollywood’s depiction of counseling. I learned early on in a counseling class to never ever ask, “How does that make you feel?” It is great to ask, “How do you feel…” or even “How did you feel…” but never […]
I’ve heard a lot of my peers talk about the importance of their rights. Their right to free speech, free way of life, and free to do whatever they like. There is a mindset among many, that no one should be allowed to tell me what to do except for me. It’s not just millennials. […]
“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The other day I was telling someone about the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. You may not recognize the name, but you’ve heard him quoted. Bonhoeffer is a household name among Christian […]
Since the beginning of my ministry I have wrestled with the question of what to wear to Church. To those who do not go to Church, worrying about what to wear may sound like a petty topic. Yet to those within the Church, it is so easily divisive. I’ve had conversations with individuals all along […]
We live in a busy world! Between work, hobbies, kids, sports, church, and everything else, there is little time for eating some days. Even though there are always 24 hours in a day, the older we get, the faster time goes and there’s even less time to get more done. This last week, the praise […]