When does perseverance, a must-have quality of a mature disciple of Christ, turn into plain old mule-headed stubbornness?  It’s not a theoretical question.  It’s not uncommon to see people hang onto ‘ministries’ that lost focus, purpose, and/or mission years prior. … Continue reading

  I won’t bore you with a list of my responsibilities, but I will tell you that it’s long! A teenager looked at me after the youth meeting at church last night and said, “Pastor Jerry, are you all right?”… Continue reading

  I have 636 friends on Facebook. Diane Sawyer visits my home most evenings at 6:30. President Obama drops by occasionally, too. Of course, I don’t know Diane or Obama. I don’t even really know half the people who have… Continue reading

After Casey was acquitted yesterday, everybody had an opinion. Most opined that “She got away with murder.” A few offered quietly that “She was vindicated.”  What was clear was that the evidence offered did not convince that jury beyond ‘a… Continue reading

We’re emphasizing gratitude in our home right now. The teens ‘round our table apparently think that food falls from the sky and that laundry magically makes it way from hamper to washer and back to dresser drawer. So, there are… Continue reading

  I think I first read the following line in Peanuts, the cartoon strip – “Blessed is the man who expects nothing for he will never be disappointed!”  There is a lot of truth in that statement, but giving up… Continue reading

NEW! IMPROVED! Those words are prominently displayed on various products, promising us that designers worked hard to make what we already like even better. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Anybody remember the famous flop of the ‘new’ Coca Cola… Continue reading

Casual, uncommitted Christians populate the Church. Many ‘sin and grin’ acknowledging their failure to live a holy life with a wink, occasionally feeling a passing pang of guilt. Of their lives they say,  “Normal human behavior,” and they are right.… Continue reading

The discussion I enjoyed with the young man was fascinating. He was a churched kid, well taught in the Scripture, knowledgeable of the traditions of Christianity. He is morally upright and in comparison to most of his peers, would seem… Continue reading

In 2001, a TV mini-series called “Band of Brothers” aired. It is great television, one of a rare few productions worth seeing again and again. It is the story of Easy Company of the US Army 101st Airborne division and… Continue reading