Along with the carols, tinsel, gaudy inflatables, red kettle ringers, and frazzled faces of exhausted shoppers which appear around this time of year, another indication of Christmas arrives in the form of signs or bumper stickers reading: "Keep Christ in Christmas". I...
Pain is more than weakness leaving the body
“My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.” - Proverbs 3:11-12 It doesn’t take Biblical wisdom to see failure as opportunity. That slogan is placarded to...
Wisdom is like a sherpa
“Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path; for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul” – Proverbs 2:9-10 If life is a journey, wisdom is your sherpa. We often use navigation terms to describe...
Truth by Consensus
Postmodernism has produced its heir, and its name is Consensus. In 2016, the Oxford Dictionary announced that “post-truth” was its word of the year. The concept post-truth refers to our contemporary sense of justice, in which objective reality and facts bow the knee...
Not all equity is created equal
The battlecry of "equity" serves as a summons to action, or at least outrage, wherever a person feels an injustice, or a passing over. Unfortunately, words like “equity” or “individualism” often become obscured by their usage within political tapestries. Political...
Believe the victim…or not?
David and Goliath. Field of Dreams. Star Wars. Rocky. The Sandlot. The local mom and pop store. Underdog stories never get old. We can't help loving them. They also contain a distinctively American flavor, probably because this country only exists because the underdog...
Consumer Church
We need more people coming to church ready to consume. We need more churches ready to give the people the product they need. That's the trouble with the hating on the consumer mentality-- it's not always wrong. "With joy you will draw water from the wells of...
Fear the Lord to start the game
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” - Proverbs 1:7 In the game of Trouble, you need a dice roll of one or a six for your pawn to get on the board. That’s similar to what this proverb tells us about the fear of...
Great people start with service
“She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens.” - Proverbs 31:15 If you’ve been around church for a while, Proverbs 31 might provoke a bit of an eye roll. That’s because so often we treat this chapter like it’s the...
We’ve all got a boss
“Do not slander a servant to his master, lest he curse you, and you be held guilty.” - Prov 30:10 This is one of those places where it feels like the Bible gets unnecessarily specific. Why not say: “Do not slander,” and leave it at that? Spreading false, harmful...