Ecclesiastes 12:10

Crazy hypothetical: Swallowing the Blarney stone* What if you had the power to convince anyone to do anything with the power of your words?  Whatever you tell someone they will blindly follow without any of their own thinking.  So anything you said will greatly affect the people around you.  Any fact you tell them they will accept as truth, any command you give will be followed.  You then will then be held responsible for anything that comes from what you tell people.  How would this change how you speak? *Crazy Hypothetical is a mental game that gives you a conditional choice that gets you thinking about a subject. I used these for several years as discussion starters in Bible class. This is a good way to think about the power of the tongue

Monday Morning Scattershooting  while wondering if Plato says that the unexamined life is not worth living, what if the examined life turns out to be a clunker as well?     I happen to like comic books.  And yes from time to time I have been known to slip a comic book quote in my lessons.  So don’t think too low of me when I tell you one of my principals of ministry comes from Batman.  When Batman is asked to be part of the Justice League he agrees on one condition, “Gotham comes first”.  Now being that the Justice League deals with worldwide crisis and Gotham is in the world so one could argue that he could be doing things with the Justice League all the time and still be taking care of Gotham, but that isn't what he meant.     “Gotham comes 1 st ” means that his primary role is Gotham’s protector and he won’t let other thing keep him from that role no matter how important.  I try to keep a “Gotham comes 1 ...

    To be rich and famous is the new American dream.  In a recent Pew Research Center poll, eighty-one percent of 18- to 25-year-olds surveyed in a said getting rich is their generation's most important or second-most-important life goal; 51% said the same about being famous.  Author Jake Halpern in his research for his book, Fame Junkies , teamed up with several academics and conducted a survey of some 650 teenagers in the Rochester, New York area.  In one of the questions in the survey, teens were given the option of “pressing a magic button” and becoming stronger, smarter, famous, or more beautiful.  As it turns out, boys in the survey chose fame almost as often as they chose intelligence, and girls chose it more often.  And why wouldn't they think that?    Maybe, because celebrity is the most celebrated attribute in our nation.  When famous people testify before congress it makes the news, even if they ...

Crazy hypothetical: Monkeying Around* You are offered an interesting job.  You will work a normal 40 hour week being paid at above what you could typically earn in your normal line of work with great benefits and vacation time.  For this job, every day at the start of work you would be transformed into an animal. You would look like you but all your actions would be on pure instinct and you would have no conscience control over what you did from 9 till 5 but when the horn sounds you would go back to normal.  You would be observed (like in a zoo) and be placed in a protective environment so there would be no greater risk of injury than most typical jobs.  When you went home you would have a complete memory of your actions for the day but no way to control what you do during the day. You would take this job? *Crazy Hypothetical is a mental game that gives you a conditional choice that gets you thinking about a subject. I used these for several years as di...

Monday Morning Scattershooting while wondering why people think I'm being condescending. It’s just that I'm too busy thinking about far more important things they wouldn't understand.     I have to admit I am getting a little tired of Facebook.  To be honest I never much cared for it. [1]   Now however the noise is getting a little overwhelming.  Too many opinions, too much information, too much bickering, too much meddling, too many busybodies.  For some reason, people can’t handle making comments.  I now avoid the comment section on any website. Not that there are not good point in some discussions, but to get to them you have to wade thru so much junk.  I still can’t believe how people don’t think about what they are saying in public forums.  Maybe it is the false mask we think we have online.  We will say things to a screen that we would never say to person.  As Oscar Wilde put it, “ Man is least himself when h...

         In 1985, Jerome Moody drowned at pool party hosted by the New Orleans Recreation Department (NORD). As tragic as the story was, it would have probably been forgotten if not for the unusual circumstance surrounding his death.  No one had seen him swimming and he was found fully dressed.  It was never known how he got in the water or when he drowned since his body was not discovered until lifeguards began cleaning out the pool at the close of the party and by then it was too late.  But what made this story even more peculiar was the party itself.  It had been thrown for the workers of NORD, which included over 100 lifeguards! The reason for the celebration; it had been the first summer without a drowning at a New Orleans city pool.  A pool full of life guards that had earned a reputation for good performance had all missed this obviously drowning man.      What happened in this tragedy is similar ...

    Let’s face it we are living in a politically correct world.  Political correctness is seeping into every vein of our lives.  Words meanings are now not as important as their perceived meanings.  We must soften our language.  Make sure our words don’t have edges, and above all don’t offend.     So we change how we say things.  We mask our words.  Use polite phrasing, even when it changes what we should be saying.     For instance, think about evangelism.  Who should we be teaching?  What people need to hear about Jesus?  Now, what do we call them?   Unchurched.  Our communities.  Those without a church home.  Seekers.     But what about lost?     The word lost isn't that politically correct.  It comes off harsh.  It gives a negative connotation.  It is however the word Jesus used to describe tho...

Crazy hypothetical: The Same Old Same Old* For $1 million dollars, would you wear the exact same outfit every day for the rest of your life? It must be the exact same outfit, (if you put on a jacket it must be on your person at all times**, so it may be too hot in summer not warm enough in winter). You will wear this in all aspects of your life (work, school, church, funerals, weddings, mowing the yard).  You may replace garments as they wear out but they will be the exact same style and color. Any variation will mean you forfeit the money and must pay it back. Would you do it? Could you do it? How much money would it take till you couldn't say no? *Crazy Hypothetical is a mental game that gives you a conditional choice that gets you thinking about a subject. I used these for several years as discussion starters in Bible class. This is a great way to talk about change and how we can’t avoid it. ** Point of clarity, If you decide on sweatshirt you can we...

Monday Morning Scattershooting  while wondering if we say e very cloud has a silver lining. Tell me again how a silver lining helps me?  One thing I have learned is people are often more comfortable and responsive in a personal bible study with a member than they are with a preacher. It may be that perception that it’s the preacher’s “job” to teach while it is more personal when it is just an "ordinary" person. It makes me wonder if we should think about this in other areas as well.  One of the most unique differences about the church of Christ compared to denominations is that the true leaders are the elders and not a singular “pastor”. Elders are not “professional” pastors, as the world perceives pastors.  They are truly shepherds that live among the sheep.  I think most folks would be shocked to find out a church where the leaders are not in it for the money or title but rather to serve for the betterment of others.  In a world that sees mi...

    There are collections of bible translations know as Bible Errta that are a much sought after find for book collectors.  They are Bibles that were made famous because of a print error or mistranslation that caused a humorous or unique mistake.  When these errors were discovered the printers were force to destroy most copies making them a rarity.  Such examples included the Wicked Bible of 1631 that left out the “not” in the 7th commandment and the “Printers Bible” of 1612: in which some copies of Psalm 119:161 reads “ Printers have persecuted me without a cause ” rather than “ Princes have persecuted me…” Another famous one is the “Sin on Bible" of 1716 where John 8:11 reads " Go and sin on more " rather than " Go and sin no more ".     I was reminded of this mistake when I was recently teaching in John 8 and the women caught in adultery.  Even though the text is correct in all other versions, some still try to make that print error...

Crazy hypothetical: One Book of Books* You are about to be sent to a now unknown island full of inhabitants that know nothing about God, Jesus, the Bible or the Gospel. You are only able to take one book of the Bible to teach them from.  What book do you choose? Other options: What if you can take a book from each testament? What if you could take 50 chapters total but from any books? *Crazy Hypothetical is a mental game that gives you a conditional choice that gets you thinking about a subject. I used these for several years as discussion starters in Bible class. This one is a good discussion starter about the need for Bible Study and the importance of the scriptures.

Monday Morning Scattershooting  while wondering, If these “blast points are too accurate for Sandpeople” and “Only Imperial Stormtroopers are so precise” (I have seen Stormtroppers shoot and they couldn't hit a main character in 3 movies, even slow moving androids) how bad of a shot are Sandpeople?    It seems everyone is talking about the Supreme Court decision on same sex marriage.  It got me thinking about the main argument I hear, even sadly among Christian, of the need to re define marriage.  Basically, that it is unfair to not extend family and spousal benefits to those that have non traditional unions.  So we need to re define marriage so as not to cause harm to people. Since we now expect our health care and retirement benefits to come from the government or employers, people can be kept from necessary services since they are not technically “married”.  So government needs to make a new definition to help people.  ...

   Recently in Bible class, we were discussing the power of prayer.  We looked at the example of King Hezekiah when he was informed by God to get his affairs in order because he would soon die.  He prayed to God to spare him and in 2 nd Kings 20:5-6 we see God response,  " I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the LORD.  I will add fifteen years to your life, and I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My own sake and for My servant David's sake."    Not only would he survive his illness but God would give him 15 more years of life and protect his kingdom.  All in all an amazing example of the power of God and how he answers prayer.    But what did King Hezekiah do with those 15 years?    The Bible tells us that after his recovery he is visited by representati...

Crazy hypothetical: Pick Your Poison* You are trapped in a room with no means of escape. The only way you will be released is by drinking from a flask on one of three tables. You must pick a table then drink from one of the choices. Table #1. It has three poisons, One will kill you in 50 years, the other will kill you in 50 months, the other in 50 days. There are all identical and it is impossible to tell which one is which, even after you have drunk the poison. If you chose this table you will escape but be poisoned unsure of how much time you have left. Table #2. It has three drinks. One is harmless, one will kill you instantly, and the other will kill when you turn 50. They are all identical, so if you survive the drink, you will either live till 50 or not be effected but you won’t know which. Table #3. It also has three drinks. One is harmless, one will kill you instantly and the other will cut your life span in half. The bottles are not identical and there is a...

Monday morning scatter shooting while thinking, no matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery     I did a sermon recently on the “ The Danger of Debt ”.  I really think it’s something preachers need to talk about.  Look at the stats.  In 2009, roughly 1 in 4 (24.8%) of American households had zero or negative net worth. That means if you’ve no debts and have $10 in your pocket you have more wealth than 25% of Americans.  Americans owe $2.6 trillion dollars and based on the latest Census statistics, that works out to be nearly $8,500 in debt for every man, woman and child that lives here in the US.  The average credit card debt among undergraduate college students is about $2,748   Debt can be dangerous for churches, (can’t do the work of the church because we are trapped paying off excessive mortgages) saints, (we can’t give as we are prospered, since most of our money is tied up in our debt), preachers (chan...