Church Life
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Directions Are Important
Several years ago, Jim and I were meeting some friends at a Bed and Breakfast to stay for a few days and enjoy some good laughs and some serious conversation. Our friends were coming from other states, but this particular B&B is located not too far from our home. We, however, had never been to it and it was located on some country roads we had never traveled, so we put the address in our GPS and trusted it to take us to our location. We followed the directions to a T. As we got closer, that lovely GPS lady began to say, “Your destination will be on the right.” “Turn right in…
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Preparing for One Graduation
A young man in North Carolina took the slowness of the covid-19 pandemic in stride. Since his classes were online, he decided to take as many as he could, and also took some online classes from a community college. (If my understanding is correct, some of the classes counted for both his high school and college.) So, on May 21, he will be receiving an associate’s degree from his local community college and seven days later, will receive his high school diploma. Oh, the boy…is twelve years old! [Source] I had a lot of reactions to that story, not the least of which was wondering what I was doing when…
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My (In)famous Church Camp Director’s Cap
For a number of years, I served as the director of one session of a church camp in southeast Missouri (Bootheel Youth Camp). Every once in a while, I’d break out my “official church camp director’s cap.” It was a different color than the one in the picture above, but it contained the same message (“I’m their leader; which way did they go?”). I usually didn’t wear the cap long. I just wore it long enough to get about all of the laughs I thought I could get and then “retired it” until another session of camp. I was very happy when it came time for the “retirement” because I do not like wearing…
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Livestream is a Great Option, But Not “Option A”
We were so thankful for Central livestreaming its worship services this past Sunday. Let me give you the quick backstory. I preached at Central Sunday morning and then our family took off on a trip. Our elders were gracious in giving me a few days off to travel to Texas to meet our new nephew, who was born last week. Our plan was to drive about half-way, go to worship somewhere locally, and then finish our trip Monday morning. However, our “timing” was off in one place to stop for worship (partially because many congregations in that area have not restarted Sunday evening services yet) and, as we continued down…
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When Seeing Red Is A Good Thing
The phrase “seeing red” usually has a negative connotation. If somebody tells you that they are seeing red, it would probably be a good idea to avoid them for a while until they can (to use another well-worn phrase) “cool down.” I would like to suggest that there are some ways to “see red” that might be helpful. They may be helpful as we relate to others and as we consider the most important relationship we need to have. I am writing these words during a time when our country is very divided. I’m old enough to remember other times we were divided by political ideologies, racial tensions, our nation’s involvement in various…
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It’s Always Planting Season
It’s that time of year, isn’t it? It’s Spring! That means it’s planting season. As soon as the weather warms up, we all want to get outside and put some seeds in the ground. Since our vegetable gardening days are over, I want to go to a nursery and pick out some beautiful flowering plants and put them in our yard so as they grow, they become a focal point in our landscape. Now we all know that for plants to thrive, the conditions have to be just right. The temperature has to be warm, the sun has to be shining, the soil has to be prepared, and the seeds or plants have to…
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I’m Still Standin’
Folks, let’s face it … it has been a year! Our entire world has dealt with a pandemic virus that has changed our way of life, potentially forever in some ways. I’ve heard more than one person comment that when they were watching a television show, they wondered why the characters weren’t wearing masks! I think some of the technology that became “necessary” for things to function over this last year might be here to stay. On top of that, some have faced challenges in their jobs due to the virus, if they were fortunate enough to be able to keep working. Still others have been challenged due to preexisting…
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“Fear Always Works”
That line, from near the end of the movie Zootopia, comes to my mind often. When people talk about being fearful or scared of certain things, that line–and a Bible verse I’ll mention in a moment–jump to my mind and cause me to do some thinking. Here are some examples: Fear can work in keeping parents from parenting. They fear that, if they discipline their children (especially in ways that are hard or that the world says are harsh), their children might hate them or not “be friends” with them. Never mind that God has laid our standards for parents that includes harder punishment. We live in fear and, so,…
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Was Crelow A Prophet?
Those of us “of a certain age” probably remember a very funny comedian by the name of Clerow Wilson, Jr. Actually, we probably know him better by his nickname, “Flip.” For some reason, I’ve been thinking recently about one of the routines he did on a fairly regular basis. In that routine, Flip Wilson portrayed a character by the name of “Reverend Leroy.” Supposedly, Leroy was the preacher for The Church of What’s Happening Now. The information on one source I checked lined up pretty well with my memory of Mr. Wilson’s portrayal. According to it, “Flip Wilson portrays a fast talking preacher who tells the truth, lies, and cons you at the same time.” I…
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Broken Things
While dusting a decorative plate the other day I was reminded of something that took place several years ago. We crossed paths with a family in a most unusual way. There were six of them – a father and mother and their two children, and an aunt and uncle to the children. They were traveling west on their way home from a vacation and the uncle of this family had hurt his back so they were at one of our local hospitals. It was determined that he needed to be admitted for treatment and possible surgery. As the case often is when traveling home, they didn’t have enough money for the…
