Almost every day I read or hear someone talk about how they wish their church would be “less traditional.” I read or hear people say that they would like to be more “non-traditional.” Sometimes the reasons are wholly against Scripture, as some push for mechanical instruments of music (which violates Ephesians 5:19, Colossians 3:16, and other passages) or other changes. More often, though, I read or hear these words when people talk about things like dress or the “formality” of worship. Comments are often worded in these types of ways: “I think more people would come to our church if we were not so traditional about how we dress.” Or,…

Many lessons and sermons have been taught and preached concerning the rich young ruler (Mt. 19:16-22; Mk. 10:17-22; Lk. 18:18-23). No matter how many times we have read these passages, there is always something new we can learn. After this young man had come to Jesus asking him what he must do to inherit eternal life, Jesus responded about the goodness of God, and that one should keep the commandments (Mt. 19:17). In Matthew’s account, the rich young ruler responds this way – “Which ones?” (Mt. 19:18). “Which ones?” What an interesting question! It sounds so similar to our culture and what many call “supermarket Christianity.” Can we pick and…

It has been my observation that it is very rare for a person to be totally undeserving of treatment that could be described as unfair. What I mean by that is that there may be some degree of justification for somebody being upset with you or me for something we said or did (or did not say or do).  It could be that our timing was wrong. Maybe our intentions and actions were less than noble. Maybe our tone of voice sent a message we did not intend to send. We may have been totally unaware of how our action or inaction would affect another person. The possibilities are almost endless. The bottom line is…

Last week I was doing something unusual: I was watching TV during the day. I was home sick so my TV was tuned to a channel that I enjoy: HGTV. The show of the day (and I literally mean all day) was “Flip or Flop.” I enjoy watching them take run-down houses and turn them into pretty homes for a profit. I also enjoy watching a couple – read: not me and my husband – differ on the spending-versus-return-theory involved. She always wants to buy higher end finishes to maximize the potential profit whereas he wants to do nice enough to guarantee a quick sale. It’s fun when it’s not you!…

This week the buzz was actress Meryl Streep’s speech at the Golden Globes. Her obvious disdain for the president-elect sounded out in a quiet room of actors and actresses and rumbled across the landscape of America. In response came a few tweets from Donald Trump, discounting the comments and defending himself. I know for myself personally it was no fun to watch from either side, and nothing was accomplished that made for peace and tranquility in a nation already divided. There was one thing, however, that immediately crossed my mind. As this was all being digested by Americans I wondered to myself just how much, really, do people let public…