Last night I experienced something that was either barbecue gone bad or a minor anxiety attack. Whatever the cause, I was afraid. I won't bother with the focus of the fear, because that is not important to this expression of thought. I will say that I know that anxiety and fear were a part of it because it was the same emotions I experienced during my faux-heart attack spell with my gallbladder. Same emotions and feelings. And I hate it. I have some fears that I am very up front about. I am afraid of water. This is an old fear. It dates back to when I was a kid. I remember the moment it began. We were at a lake. A family friend was carrying me on his shoulders. And then he dunked us in the water. I got a snout full of water and started choking. It shocked me. And to this day, water still causes problems for me. If I am in a body of water and it splashes me in the face, I experience panic symptoms. If I stay in the shower too long or am having a particular type of day, the water...
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News is spreading this morning that the Ringling Bros. Circus is ending its 146 year run. The leading cause of the end of the show is it has become an unrealistic business model. Ticket sales have declined. The cost to move the show with its many animals and performers is too high to continue. For almost 150 years, this show has brought joy and wonder to the hearts and minds of children and adults. And now the curtain if falling on the greatest show on earth. I was reading this article from the New York Times. As I was reading it, I couldn't help but notice that the tone of what was happening to Ringling Bros. is a similar tone that could be applied to the American church. ...cited declining ticket sales,... American churches across the theological spectrum are seeing declining offerings. There are endless reasons for this. And there are a number of strategies to counteract the decline. But there is no denying that churches are working with less revenue. It is just a reality t...
It never fails that when January rolls around, there is a complex of emotions that settle within me. As I have taken stock of my life and what I experience, and explored the information available to me, I believe that I experience Seasonal Affective Disorder. It has been called winter blues. It is recognized as a legitimate type of depression. It is tied to the seasons, in particular the late Fall and Winter seasons. For me, I begin to experience it in January and it lasts through March. At times it has been worrisome for me. The expression that I experience the most is a feeling of worthlessness. My mind is attracted to the idea that I am useless to people (family, church, colleagues). I dwell in the playground of convincing myself that I am not needed by anyone. Over the time frame of weeks that I experience this, it progresses and worsens. It is not a good feeling. It is not something that I can just "shake it off". It is not just a matter of thinking about something e...
Before we get to life after death we should have a clear understanding of life here and now. Jesus spoke the words from Matthew 6 to a gathering of people on the side of a hill. They were people who wanted more out of life. He reminded them that life was more than the everyday grind of life. We are prone to lower our eyes and look at life as only going from one day to the next. But life is more than providing for day to day necessities Genesis 1:30 – life is the very breath of God inside of us. We are animated by the breath of the very same God to spoke creation into existence. Our lives are more than just mundane day to day existence. We have within us life that comes from God. Even that is not the full meaning of life Jesus speaks a lot about life and eternal life. John 6:35 – the bread of life that brings eternal life. What many people often confuse is what eternal life means. This is also part of the confusion with heaven. Eternal life is not about some existence afte...
In preparation for the upcoming sermon series I was reading Basil Pennington's Centering Prayer . At the end of chapter one, Pennington quotes Revelation 3: 14-21. For those who aren't familiar, that is the letter to the church of Laodicea. It is also home to two enduring images of scripture: being vomited out of God's mouth and Jesus standing at the door knocking. Pennington uses the expression of this passage to discuss the intimacy of prayer. I am not going to quote the entirety of the passage from this book. But I do want to hit upon its most powerful messages and apply them for myself. Maybe you, dear one reading this, will gain something also. The letter begins with ascription of Christ's preeminence. The Amen (the truth of all that is), the Faithful and True Witness, and the ruler of God's creation. That verse puts Christ as the substance of it all, the medium of understanding it all, and the ruler of it all. Creation and life, hope and joy, grace and mer...
It is Monday, January 2, 2017. A new year has begun. I am human, therefore, I feel compelled to do something different with this new year. Something to improve my life. Something to make a change in how I live and work and have my being. Yesterday, I preached a sermon that borrowed the text from Mark 12:28-34. It is Mark's account of the scribe asking Jesus which commandment is the greatest. The response - The Lord our God is one. You will love the Lord your God with all that you are. The second is that you will love your neighbor as yourself. I say that I borrowed that text because I used it to talk about how we can improve ourselves using Jesus' description of self - heart, soul, mind, and body. In order to connect with the contemporary listener, I used the most familiar understanding of those English words instead of the Greek/ANE understanding. It was my hope to offer direction for listeners, and myself, to pursue improvement in one or more of the 4 arenas of self. ...
I wish President Elect Trump well. I did not vote for him. I did not support the idea of him being President. I feel that the Republican Party gave into popularistic tides so that, instead of saying, "NO" to Trumps run for the office, they rolled over and allowed themselves to compromise their entire ideology. But choices have consequences. Now we have to live with their choice. But the election of Donald Trump leaves all of us facing some uncertainty about the future. And there are changes coming. The question is are we prepared to face them? Can we accept the permission for hate, racism, and bigotry that the Trump campaign has granted to certain groups? Can we accept the tens of thousands of people who were receiving NECESSARY medical care under the Affordable Care Act who will most likely lose their health care coverage? Can we accept that our neighbors will be screened and profiled for having brown skin, wearing a head scarf, or associating with non-white, non-Ameri...
Some community members gathered at the front door to the high school in Turpin one Wednesday evening. It was hot. The sun was beating down out of the still bright, western sky. Shade was not in abundance as we stood in the parking lot. But the discomfort we all experienced was with purpose. We gathered to pray for the school and community. The prayer walk was to take us through the entire community in teams. But it began with a walk around the school property. Prayer would be lifted over the boundaries of the property to make this new school year something new in the name of the Lord. We were instructed on the practicals of how to go about the prayer walk, but left to our own method of prayer as we journeyed. My method was to allow God to inspire the prayers. To drop from my mind the things I wanted, and allow God to feedback into my spirit what God wanted prayed. As I began the journey, one thing after another popped into my imagination. It took an entire trip around the ...
If you are hiding under a social media rock, then you probably have not heard about Pokemon Go. It is a game played on cell phones or other portable devices. The Pokemon property has been around about 20 years and has spawned games, television shows, comic books, and movies. The basic rule of the game is to catch imaginary creatures and collect them, power them up (by collecting more of the same), and sending them to fight others. The collecting part requires a player to wander around the real world until they cross paths with a critter. Then, using the device on which they are playing, the critter is captured by flicking a ball on the screen toward the object of their capturing desires. Part of the real world interaction are places of interest or gathering. Pokestops are a sort of refilling station. Gyms are places where rival players can "battle" their Pokemon. No real violence is committed. What Niantic and Nintendo have done is create an intersection of virtual realit...
My social media feeds were filled with unending samples, comments, and memes regarding Pokemon Go! In order to be a well rounded geek, I downloaded the app and proceeded to discover what it was about. Walking around looking at your phone. Stopping occasionally and flipping something on the screen. Walking some more. In other words, it is an exercise program hidden within a conditioned response device. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I purchased the Steam updated version of System Shock. Originally released when computer game graphics were less realistic, that game had a fantastic story line as well as atmosphere. And all these years later, it still spawns some of the same gut reactions. It is not graphically pleasant to watch. But that may not be extremely necessary. It remains to be seen how it will hold up the further I play into the story. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mr. Lee, The days of finding a "fan mail" address for favorite stars seems to have disappeared. But I wanted to use some form of correspondence to make known how much you have been for me. I wanted to express this to you in person. I was at Dallas Fan Expo in early June. I was looking forward to getting an autograph or photograph just so I could have the 30 seconds to express my admiration. Unfortunately, the cost was beyond my budget. I was disappointed that a financial barrier such as $100 would keep me from meeting you. But I was able to sit in on the spotlight panel in the arena. That was the highlight of the weekend for me. I appreciate the time and energy you devote to your fans. It is understandable that you would retire from making as many appearances at conventions. I don't know how extensive your retirement will be, but if I don't ever get the opportunity again, I treasure the little time that you shared with your fans. I have to admit to a streak of e...
I preached on the moral failure of Christian leaders. In that sermon, I put forward 5 templates of moral failure that appear in the Bible. These templates are still relevant in the life of churches. Below is my offer. This isn't perfect or a complete idea. 5 Templates of moral failure for Christian leaders Pharisee Template Sadducee Template False Teacher Template Ezekiel Shepherd Template Aaron Template Pharisee Template Moral failure: Using tradition and rules to manipulate people Modern example: Legalism without compassion Biblical examples: Matthew 23:4,13,16,18; 12:1-13; 15:3,14; Mark 7:1-13; Luke 17:1; 14:1-6 In this template, a leader uses traditional boundaries or legalistic boundaries to dictate how a group of followers should exhibit their faith life. It could apply to pastors or lay leaders within a local congregation. The problem is that tradition serves to flavor the way a people live out a faith life. Rules de...