Church Life
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One Man’s Idea about the Message of the Bible
During my lifetime, I have had some conversations which are difficult to forget. There are some which I would like to forget, but have difficulty in accomplishing that. At other times, there are conversations which I hope I never forget. There are at least a couple of reasons why a conversation can find its way into that second and much more positive category. The reason could be that the person with whom the conversation took place is one of those unforgettable people in my life. At other times, it was just the fact that something was said which made a major impact on me and/or caused me to do some…
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Into the Heart of the Bible Episode 016: “The Period of Restoration”
This week, Leah finishes the Old Testament narrative with a great overview of the Period of Restoration. Watch below or click this link.
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Long Shadows
I have been spending a lot of time lately watching the results of past actions, decisions, and events. When your baby baby (the youngest), approaches high school graduation, there is a lot of time spent reflecting on all of her accomplishments and shenanigans. Pictures are unearthed that you may not have seen for years to prepare for a slideshow. Those pictures evoke memories of all sorts of emotions and, with the benefit of hindsight, you can see how they helped shape the person your child has become. Some of the foreshadowing is not surprising. Having always been bright and bubbly with a flair for the dramatic, it is no surprise…
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Keeping the Faith
My friend Charlie turned 91 yesterday (as I’m writing this). If you’ve ever been to West Side, or to Salem, or quite possibly to the state of Virginia, you’ve met Charlie. There’s a running joke that Charlie knows everyone, and the joke lands because it’s not that far from the truth. You wouldn’t know Charlie is 91 if you met him – he has an energy about him that a lot of young people I know envy. He is an incredible blessing to many, and I am thankful to call him a friend and mentor of mine. This week has been our Gospel meeting week at West Side, which has…
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Much More Than a Cup of Coffee
I have discovered that I can learn a lot by just listening. I have also learned that I can learn valuable things in unusual circumstances and from all kinds of people. All of that (and more) came together during a recent trip. Donna and I were returning from a lectureship. We had heard some wonderful lessons and had some great conversations with some of our brothers and sisters in the Lord. During the same trip, we also got to spend some time with a part of our family. We enjoyed all of that a great deal. On the “home stretch” of our trip, I decided to make a stop at a…
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Peace, Perfect Peace
If you’re like me, sometimes peace is hard to find. You would think that as a retired woman I would have plenty of time, fewer worries, less deadlines to meet, and be able to just do what I want to do resulting in peace in my life. You couldn’t be more wrong. I still have a lot of activities in my life. Along with the usual daily chores – doing laundry, cleaning house, buying groceries, cooking meals, organizing closets, etc. – I seem to be busy with lots of other things like writing, studying, praying, teaching Bible classes, mentoring young women, hosting guests in our home, counseling those who are…
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Death by Caveat
I was at a preachers’ retreat a few years ago and taking part in a group discussion. We were simply supposed to answer a few questions then share our answers with the full group. One of the questions was something like this: “What is one of the biggest challenges to preaching the truth publicly?” While there were a few thoughts in our group, my favorite was given by a preaching friend from Arkansas who said, “Caveats.” The longer I preach, the more I agree with that statement. Caveats are those statements where you have to explain what you don’t mean or why you are not doing something. Certainly, there can…
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All Things are Ready
[The following was written over a year ago now and has been revised only slightly. I know I’m the author, but in my estimation, it is just as necessary today as it was at the first, at least for me.] It’s been a long time since I read the Bible and was genuinely afraid. It happened today. In Luke 14, Jesus was at a dinner party with the Pharisees. To careful readers of Luke’s Gospel, this should come as a bit of a shock; the narrative all the way back into Luke 11 has been marked by hostility towards Jesus on the part of the Pharisees and stern but truthful…
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Churches, Learn From–but Stop Blaming–Covid
It’s been five years. Five years ago from the publication date of this post, the world was still basically shut down. Though a few things in a few places were starting to try to open up again, the world was a very different place. Churches were not immune to those changes. Every congregation was navigating waters that were very odd. (So, please, do not read the rest of this article as if I am saying that covid wasn’t real or that leaders didn’t do the best they could!) But read that first line again: it’s been five years. Are there lessons that congregations should have learned during 2020? Of course.…
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Do You Know My Jesus?
The mood must have been tense that Sunday afternoon. Very few people had fully grappled with what had happened just days before, and it didn’t help that more rumors about more strange events that morning were starting to spread. Everyone was emotionally exhausted, everyone was physically exhausted, and nobody knew if there would be more innocents targeted by the mob’s fury, or who would be next if there were. It’s no wonder Cleopas and his friend decided to get out of dodge. After all, things hadn’t always been this bad. Just a week ago there was rejoicing in the streets over this great Prophet of the people. For years, His…
