A lot of people with whom I worship are involved in a training program for young people called Lads to Leaders/Leaderettes. As I type these words, we are in “full swing” in an effort to prepare for this year’s annual convention.   My role in this is to help some young men prepare and present speeches. Most of what I’m doing could be identified as coaching. I am not there to write their speeches, but to suggest, encourage, critique, etc. Very early one morning I woke up with an idea about something “concrete” I could give them that might help. With a couple of exceptions, what follows is the material I…

I’ve read or listened to more of them than I care to count. Each one is instructive in its own way, but all are equally heartbreaking. They are often referred to as “deconstruction” stories. While there are other terms and descriptions, they are essentially the same things. These are personal accounts–often done on video through YouTube, or in written form through blogs or social media posts–in which a person shares that they are (or have) “deconstructed” their faith and are forging a new spiritual path. While each is different since it they are individual stories, it is remarkable to me how similar the ones I have seen or watched are.…

Jim and I helped our daughter and her children move a couple of weeks ago to a new (to them) house (see last Thursday’s Legacy post). We had several days of hard work, but nothing from which we couldn’t recuperate. She had hired movers to take care of the heavy furniture so we thought there wouldn’t be much for us to do. Before a move, as you sit and look at your belongings in the house, you really don’t think it will be that hard – especially if strong men with a big truck are coming to lift the big stuff! And then you begin opening the clothes closets, the…

Gossip is evil. It is insidious. It subverts relationships. It tears groups of people–sadly, even sometimes congregations–apart. So, this post is not saying that gossip is no big deal! However, the word “gossip” is sometimes used to describe things as a way to accuse people of something that is horribly wrong when what is going on may not be gossip. In other words, we need to be supremely careful about accusing someone of this sin. What are some ways the word “gossip” is thrown around, when what is going on may not be that sin? Here are a few things that are sometimes called gossip that may or may not…