Cutting Back for Christmas
December 15th, 2008When I was younger, my parents used to warn us kids every so often, “Things are a little tight this year. We are going to have to cut back.” We never wanted to hear that - it meant that our gifts were going to be reduced in quantity and even in quality. The prognosticators are telling us that 2008 will see drastic cutbacks in shopping, gift giving, decorating, etc… People are feeling the financial pinch, no doubt. I wonder how many families will be telling their children, “Kids, we are going to have to cut back this year.”
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Musings of a Guyana Traveler
November 1st, 2008I write this article from sunny, extremely humid, and very hot Over Winning Village in Berbice Region, Guyana, South America! Yes, by miracles, the missionaries DO have e-mail. Granted, it is a bit crude and certainly slower than what I have grown accustomed to, but it gets the job done.
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Lessons I have Learned from My Brother’s Untimely Death
October 1st, 2008It is extremely important that we grieve. In fact, that grief will take on various forms and stages for the rest of our lives! We won’t ever “get over” this. It is also extremely important for us to learn from this death and to move forward. If you will indulge me, I would like to briefly share what I am learning and how this very painful experience will be changing me in the rough days ahead.
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Politics in the Church
September 1st, 2008By the above title, I am not referring to some sort of infighting or duplicity within the body of Christ. I am referring to what is known as literal politics . . . the way in which our government is run or if you will, the “game” that runs our government. Can the church engage in political discussion? Should the church engage in political discussion? Politics is an area that people are generally quite passionate about! With the previous scenarios looming at election time, I propose a few thoughts.
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Why Do We Give?
June 1st, 2008Several large ministries (aka churches) have been asked recently to open up their financial books to a Senate Oversight committee. The committee justifies this far-reaching request under the justification of evaluating tax-exempt laws for charitable organizations. They state that they need to stay current on trends in giving, spending, saving, etc… in order to legislate effectively both the laws governing charitable contributions and the laws governing tax-exempt status for organizations. Both of these governing issues are closely related, especially for a church!! By the way, what the Senate committee is investigating is vicariously NWBC. Of course, we are not directly implicated or under government scrutiny, but we are representatively under scrutiny by implication of findings related to these other larger high profile ministries/churches.
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United
May 1st, 2008No, I am not referring to an imminently merging airline. I am referencing that concept of being closely together as a family or even as a body.
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The “I AM” God
April 1st, 2008In our contemporary Christian culture there is a fading view of the power of God. We tend to view God as the One who did mighty acts and magnificently worked in and through people’s lives in the past. Certainly during the days of the Bible, God was at work! In fact, we even anticipate that God will be at work in the future. Once the end times are initiated with the Rapture, God will certainly, again, be about the business if working in and through people’s lives in magnificent ways. What about now? Is God still working in and through lives in magnificent ways? Is He doing these special things now?
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Why Suffering?
March 1st, 2008Recently in our state, a tragic school bus accident occurred that claimed the lives of four children and wounded many others. Much of the attention has been focused on the cause of the accident - the driver who was at fault. Many legal ramifications have surfaced which have dominated the news. The fact that the driver was illegally residing in our country without a valid driver’s license has become quite paramount in the discussions. I noticed, however, a sobering point in this on-going story that has not captured much news.
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Rent-A-Pastor
February 1st, 2008I read an article recently that proposed a disturbing idea. The author put forward the idea that churches band together to enable the pastors of each of the churches an opportunity to save time and energy. The way in which the churches would band together would be to enlist one man to represent all of the pastors and to do all of the hospital visitation for the churches, thus saving the pastors countless hours crossing the city in traffic to visit one patient here and then another over there. In addition, often these hospital visits tend to be exhausting and emotionally draining since, many times, the illness or injury is of a serious nature.
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Tiger Attack
January 1st, 2008Recently, on Christmas Day, at the San Francisco Zoo, a 350 pound tiger escaped from its cage and attacked three men. Unfortunately, one of the men was killed. There still exists quite a bit of controversy and discussion as to just how this tiger got out of its cage/environment. Some think it was able to leap a 20 foot moat and then a 12 ½ foot fence to reach freedom. Others think the tiger was somehow aided in its escape. Quite a few, believe the tiger was provoked and whipped into a frenzy which enabled it be motivated to attack the men. Time may tell exactly what happened. Regardless of the exact details of this beast’s actions, a man’s life has ended. In fact, he was hardly a man. He was a 17 year old. His parents are, of course, deeply grieved. A parent never expects to outlive their child!
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