Gray areas in the scriptures
This past week my Bible study group bantered over Romans 14. (Click here to read.) If you want my CliffsNotes on this portion of Paul’s letter, he is telling his readers to defer in love in those matters that are not black and white but gray.
When hope has sunk
Tender shoots of green are breaking through the beds surrounding my house. Lush green grass has replaced the brown patches shedding winter’s dreary cloak. Birds serenade me through my bedroom window. The cursed Bradford pear has exploded in cottony white.
Are our prayers just platitudes?
Last week actor Chris Pratt tweeted about film director Kevin Smith and ended up with a thread of caustic tweets on the topic of prayer. I have to be honest. I did not know who Smith was so I did a Google search. He had suffered a massive heart attack, and Pratt suffered massive backlash […]
Three takeaways from the Olympics
I love the spirit of the Olympics. What inspires me even more than the games themselves are the stories behind each athlete. A mountain of obstacles blocks their dream, and they find themselves stuck in deep valleys of pain, injuries and discouragement. Yet in the slogging through the valleys a burning desire for gold remains.
Looking firsthand into the world of sex trafficking
Periodically, I want to present people who are following Jesus but take a path different from mine or yours. This week I sat down with Kyla Conlee, a woman of guts and grit, to delve deeper into the epidemic problem of sex trafficking here in the United States. Warning: Because of the nature of the […]
Are we grumbling or complaining?
This past Sunday at church our senior pastor spoke via simulcast to all the regional campuses about the vision for the church. One aspect of the vision challenged the six congregations to make 10,000 disciples. Disciples making more disciples. It’s a gigantic vision.