I don’t stay up late very often. Usually, I lay down around 10:30 and am asleep by 11. (In case you’re wondering, I get up before 6AM.) Last night, however, I had to stay up a little later than normal. This is the 2nd-best sports time of the year. (The best is March Madness.) Baseball playoffs combined with college football (and the NFL) make this great! I stayed up last night to watch the Nebraska Cornhuskers come back from a 12-0 deficit to start the 4th quarter to beat Missouri, 27-12. It was amazing! I love espn360.com! Now, if the Yankees win today, and the Red Sox will lose again,…

[Today’s guest writer is John Dobbs. John preaches for the Forsythe Avenue church of Christ in Monroe, Louisiana, where he has served since February 2008. John is married to Maggie, and they have two children. Their daughter, Nicole, is married and has two children. Their son, John Robert, died in May 2008 at the age of 18. You may read more about that here. John is a self-described social network geek, and you may find him on Facebook, Twitter, or his personal blog. We are grateful for his time and thought in writing today’s 6th part of our “The Church and…” series.] A funeral home is a natural place to…

My friend Matt Reaves and I have agreed to do more sports previews throughout the year. We’re starting off with our preview of this year’s baseball playoffs. Before the predictions, here is some full disclosure. Matt is a St. Louis Cardinal fan while I pull for the New York Yankees. Since both are in the playoffs this year, that’s good for you to know. Matt’s LDS National League Phillies-Rockies: Outside of the Minnesota Twins, the Colorado Rockies were the hottest team going down the stretch.  Expect that to continue in this first round series.  This will end up being the best series in the first round as Colorado beats the…

“We’ve got a great youth group.” “Our older ladies are so involved.” “You’ll just love our single’s class.” These, and other statements like them, are often used to draw people to a particular congregation. The thought is that, by knowing there are others who have the same–or similar–place in life at a congregation, one will be more likely to visit and, potentially, identify. Obviously, having those ties helps. It does help the young adult with small children to know that others are facing that time in life. It is a great thing for a teen to know that their peers also care about the things of God. We need to…

[Today’s post is the fourth in our “The Church and…” series. Paula Harington. Paula writes regularly for Forthright magazine, and also has a personal blog, “Thinking Jesus,” with uplifting articles. She is the author of Sunday Afternoon with the Preachers’ Wives, a book designed to give personal reflections for the wives of preachers and from the wives of preachers. Paula, the mother of 5, also is a regular on a podcast called A Better View, a roundtable podcast with 3 Christian ladies (search for it on iTunes). We are grateful for the time she took in writing today’s post. You may find her blog here.] Recently, I heard of an effort…

I love the way the Lord organized His church. I’m grateful that we have no earthly headquarters and that each congregation is autonomous. It is a joy to work with elders who see specific problems, opportunities, joys, failures, and challenges unique to each particular setting. God truly is all-wise in using this structure for His Church! That being said, there are some common themes that are nearly universal. One of those is that a congregation is not “set” to exist forever, just because it has always existed. We must pray earnestly for our local congregation and pray that we will have the wisdom to always seek the best for our…