One of the best things in the world that we can do is know ourselves. Know our strengths. Know our weaknesses. There’s an old saying – know thyself. That’s a good thing. Because when we know ourselves, we know what to be on the lookout for. What are things that could cause us trouble. What are the things in our
The idea of the future has a mysterious quality to it because it is always beyond us, in one sense not yet fulfilled. As you look ahead, what do you anticipate about the future? What concerns or fears do you have? Do you think that in the midst of the inevitable uncertainty regarding various aspects of our future, there is
To say yes is to listen when another person is hurting or needs to process a current life crisis.
To say and is to add a word of encouragement, consolation, or solidarity. Eventually trust is earned as each person allows themselves to be more and more vulnerable when more of their life is shared and accepted. These real and open
And as they were in conversation, all I could see was the blurriness of death, being detached from this world and reaching the light of the union with the Creator.
I know that issues are more complex than these assertions, but I’m weary of excusing ourselves because the issue is so complex. Education is clearly a justice/mercy issue. That’s the reason why our church in Memphis has made a missional commitment to doing justice in relation to education.
Preaching has always been a lively communal dialogue between the preacher, God and the congregants within the Black Church tradition; however, technology and social media have invaded this dialogue for Black Millennials. Their idea of interactive preaching goes beyond the “preacher, music and frenzy” that W.E.B. DuBois refers to Black Millennials want church as they know it to reach beyond
While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself.
Our youngest, Duke, was one of these tender branches grafted into the faith that had been nurtured in him from birth.
Duke took the oath he was making seriously.
A week prior our son wrestled with whether or not he was actually ready to make such a hefty proclamation. His reservation? An unanswered (and I would add unanswerable) question that
Do you remember standing tall and straight against a door jamb etched with pencil markings as a child? Was there a spot in the family home marking years of growth? Perhaps you had a growth chart, able to be folded away and moved as you relocated. If measuring height was part of your childhood, you’ll know that feeling in your
So, why do we make this annual trek to mark Jeremy’s birth, death, Christmas, Easter and other special occasions? I guess somehow in the ritual of the rhythm of returning to the grave we find comfort as we remember. We seek closure. We find consistency. We seek to make sense out of a situation that otherwise makes little to no
Scripture focus: It is actually best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Counselor won’t come. If I do go away, he will come because I will send him to you. (John 16:7, NLT) When my youngest daughter, Hannah, was 11 years old she mastered the skill of throwing an M&M into the air and
Many of you know that I love gardening. I just love working with my hands in the dirt. I’ve written about that passion before. Annuals are the kind of flowers that you need to replant every year and they are crucial to my garden. Unfortunately, with the heat wave that has plagued my part of the world, they are looking somewhat
Over the years I’ve observed that many of the problems we have in mission and ministry stem from our confusion between two similar, yet distinct, things: Conflict and Tension. Now, since these are pretty common words it might be helpful to offer definitions for the sake of this conversation: Conflict: “An incompatibility between two or more opinions, principles, or interests.”
Scripture Focus: God wanted them to look for him and perhaps search all around for him and find him, though he is not far from any of us: “We live in him. We walk in him. We are in him.” Some of your own poets have said: “For we are his children.” (Acts 17:27-28, New Century Version) In quite
“Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends! I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at
Scripture Focus: Aways be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again – rejoice! (Philippians 4:4, NLT) At its most basic level, Christian faith is about joy. It is about the deep, abiding joy of being in relationship with a God who accepts us as we are and pledges never to abandon us. The by-product of following
Scripture Focus: When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, no one is likely to die for a good person, though someone might be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while
When church leaders grieve, there is sometimes a spiritual reality that makes the grief of a pastor or priest slightly distinct from the grief of other leaders. Grief and reality pair together; anytime we find ourselves grieving, we find ourselves responding at multiple levels to what we perceive to be true, as cartoons remind us whenever someone cries over a
Many of us continue to deal with the effects of the pandemic in our schools, communities, and churches. No matter the location or size of the church, one universal and lingering effect of the post-pandemic reality is that church attendance has not rebounded as well as other aspects of our pre-COVID19 lives. Recent studies show, regardless of the size of
Scripture focus: It wasn’t so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. You let the world, which doesn’t know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience. We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when
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