It was a bookkeeping error, and it led to a good laugh, but it was also eye-opening. A man strode into my office recently with a big grin on his face. He handed me a piece of paper and told me I had to see it. It was a form letter from a life insurance company, but it might as well have been right out of a stand-up comedian’s stage show. After the official mumbo-jumbo at the top of the letter, the first line stated, “We express our condolences for the loss of [person’s name].” What made it funny? The man who handed me the letter was the one named…

Nobody knows what is going to happen to their kids. We don’t know how they will perform in the world. We don’t know who they will marry, what friends they will choose, or what kind of career they will have. We don’t know if they will always be healthy and happy and safe like we want them to be. And so we raise them as best we can and give them to the Lord. Christian parents who currently have children at home have one thing in particular that they are worried about. They are concerned that their children might leave the church. I have seen several studies over the years…

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about these three words – love, joy, and peace. They’ve been on my mind for several different reasons, but at the top of the list is the negativity that I see around me. When you turn on the TV, it’s there. When you shop in Wal-Mart (or any other store), it’s there. When you scroll through Facebook or Twitter or your email, it’s there. When you go to a meeting of any kind, it is often there. Sometimes, even in our homes and in our congregations, it is there. I’m wondering…where is the love, joy, and peace? If you asked almost anyone around you if they want to have love, joy,…

Ask a 10-year-old boy who they want to be when they grow up. They may say Tom Brady, Lebron James, or maybe some musician or movie star. The reason why youths admire these people is because they can do special things with their talents, and because they appear on the world’s stage and compete or perform at such a high level. To win the greatest prize, to have the most talent, and to make good on all of your dreams is what is touted as being a true success. People think such fame is what makes a person’s life of value, as if they had not wasted their life on…