Pacifist…or Sissy?

I have never considered myself a pacifist. I grew up in the 80s and 90s playing with toy guns and video games, watching the “heroes” in movies take out the bad guys…and like any boy in his right mind I wanted to be a “hero,” too.

But, lately I have been seriously reconsidering my boyhood position.

Stop Going to Church

No, that is not a typo. I mean every word of it. And, yes, I am still a preacher.

There are some mind-sets that we have simply because they are repeated over and over and are never questioned. I like chili, and I love chocolate, but I am not about to mix the two. I have never tried them together before, but I have a long-standing, unchallenged belief that it would be disgusting.

Going to church is a lot like chili and chocolate

Sideshow God

Have you ever thought about what it would feel like to be the Bearded Lady, or the Goat Boy? What would it be like for people to gawk at you and stare because you are to them a spectacle, and no more? To be valued based on your admittance price? I imagine it would feel pretty miserable to only be loved for your entertainment value. I imagine it would feel like God feels.

Don’t Do Nothing

Steve Sikes, a family life minister in Pitman, NJ, told an interesting story in a bulletin article recently. He wrote about an eleven-year-old boy who received three umbrellas for Christmas. The gift may seem odd, but the reason was that a couple months before he and his mother had been traveling down the highway in a heavy rain. The boy saw a man walking in the rain, and he asked his mom if they could stop and give the man a ride. The mother explained that it was not safe to pick up strangers, even if it was raining. Her son responded, “Well, then can’t we turn around and give him our umbrella?”  So, an eleven-year-old boy got what he wanted for Christmas: a service project.

Things Above

When the preacher stands up behind that fancy pulpit in his fancy suit and tie (I don’t normally wear a suit, so this obviously doesn’t apply to me) what goes through your mind?  Other than, “I wish he would hurry up…the Methodists are going to beat us to lunch.”  When you hear about Jesus, and holiness, and heaven, what do you picture?  What do you think of when you read this verse: