Ecclesiastes 12:10

   Richard Nixion had already had one nominee for the Supreme Court shot down by the Senate and it was looking like his second choice Harold Carswell was about to go down as well. Since he was attacked as a mediocre choice, Republicans were asked to help bolster the candidate. Nebraska Senator Roman Hruska tired with the following statement,” Even if [Carswell] were mediocre, there are a lot of mediocre judges and people and lawyers. They are entitled to a little representation, aren’t they? ”. Needless to say, this didn’t help the case and Carswell didn’t get the job.   Everybody needs a little encouragement every now and then. Yet we need to make sure that our attempts don’t do the opposite.  Consider three ways to make sure your words build up and not tear down Are they Considered?   Don’t just say something. Make sure your words have meaning and that meaning is good. Are they Timely?   You can say the right thing and still be ineffective ...

  A man was about to take some time off, so he called his workers into a meeting. He delegated responsibilities to each person with what he thought they could handle. Everybody had their assignments and got to the tasks at hand. Well almost everybody. The first two employees took their many tasks and did what they were supposed to but the third guy stuck his one task on the back burner and did nothing.   Well, the boss comes back from vacation and calls each one into his office to see how things have been going. The first guy says here is what you gave me and I did it all. The boss scowls, ”What do you want a medal? “You did your job, it is nothing special”. The second man comes in and explains he got his task done as well. The boss looks at him and says, “Well, I must have not have given you enough to do. Go do your job! That guy over there did twice as much as you did, why are you not like him?   Finally, the last guy comes in and passes the incomplete task ...

  Abraham Lincoln was shot and killed in Ford’s Theater April 14 th , 1865. Of course, he had no idea that night would be his last. Lincoln loved the theater and it was his common diversion for his stressful job. So he probably didn’t think much about what he carried in his pocket that night, but maybe we should.   In the personal effects found on Abraham Lincoln that night: a small handkerchief embroidered “A. Lincoln,” a pocketknife, a watch fob, glasses (one repaired with cotton string), a Confederate five-dollar bill, and wallet with only some worn-out newspaper clipping in it. Most of the items were common enough but I want you to notice the newspaper clipping. One began, “ Abe Lincoln is one of the greatest statesmen of all time .  The clippings were, even at the time of his death, so well-worn they were almost unreadable. They mostly were articles extolling his presidency.   Contrary to what some today might say, Lincoln was the most vilifi...

  Will Rodgers said, “ There is nothing as easy as denouncing ... It don’t take much to see that something is wrong but it does take some eyesight to see what will put it right again. ”  Dale Carnegie's take was “ Any fool can criticize, complain, and condemn—and most fools do. But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving. ” Ben Franklin remarks a similar refrain, “ I will speak ill of no man, not even in matter of truth; but rather excuse the faults I hear charged upon others, and upon proper occasion speak all the good I know of everybody .”   What were these wise men trying to tell us? That if we think we are helping a problem by pointing it out to others, we’re not.   If all you want to do is all your two cents to the mess, please keep the change.   It is among the weakest, pettiest, and unproductive pursuits to dogpile on a problem. Anybody can see the problem. Anyone can show outrage against a wrong action. Eve...

  Bobby Jones was one of the most important men in the history of golf.  His skill, his accomplishments, his course design, his attitude, and sportsmanship are legendary. In its eulogy for Bobby Jones, the New York Times wrote, “ He is the idol for those who love the game for what there is in it, not for what they can get out of it.   I wonder if the same can be said for us in relation to the church.  Do we love what there is in it or what we can get out of it?   Sometimes, it easy to see that attitude. Those that only show up for potlucks or have their hand out at every service.  The church is only a place to provide for my physical needs.   Other times it is more subtle.  Those that come for the ‘entertainment’ factor. Give my kids something to do. Provide emotional support. Make me feel good.   Do we love Christ’s Church or what we get out of it?   Don’t get me wrong there are great benefits for being part ...

   In almost every church I've been in there is a board up front that lists some statistics for the church.  Now the way they are organized and what they are called varies but normally it falls into two categories:  Contribution and Attendance.  Attendance is the number of people who show up to any given service, a head count.  Contribution refers to what people gave during that time, usually a dollar figure.  Let me tell you something, the contribution is the more important part of worship than the attendance.    Now before you dismiss me as a money grubbing preacher let me clarify something.  When I say contribution, I'm not meaning just the offering that is collected on the first day of the week.  I mean what we contribute to the worship.  Did we sing and make melody with our heart? Did we pray along in prayer?  Did we consider the word of God being taught and apply it to ourselves?  Did we examine ourselv...

Young fool... only now, at the end, do you understand...!   The other day when the new Star Wars trailer came out, I realized I am not young anymore.  The stars of the movie of my youth are now old people.  Which then make me old!  I used to think of myself as a “young minister” but time is telling me otherwise.  The advantage of age is experience.  I am by no means fully experienced, but after a while you get to seeing some of the same situation again and again.  So I thought I would share some experiences and the lessons I’ve learned from them, so others might gain some insight. Here are in no particular order, are some things you might face in ministry [i] . 4. A New Hope The Story :  You have taken a new work and everyone is excited.  The congregation has been dealing with many different struggles and needs, but now YOU have come and everything is going to be perfect!  You will solve all the problems and bring everythin...

  I tend to watch a lot of sports on television, so I also tend to watch a lot of commercials.  While I love recording shows so I can skip through the commercials, it just seems wrong to not watch a sporting event live, so I have to muddle through the ads.  I might not be so bad if they weren't the same commercials over and over.  What’s worse they are not even good commercials.  Mostly, they’re not all that funny, or entertaining.  Why do they keep showing them the same old things over and over again?   Well, years ago my father explained to me a little something about the nature of advertising.  The key is not necessarily to entertain, or to get noticed but to be remembered!  For example, there might be a lot of buzz about the funny ad that ran during the Super Bowl.  People can tell you what the ad was about but nothing about the specific product. It was a car ad but which car company? You see that ad was noticed b...

Quick question, what other name was Thomas the disciple also called?     The Bible tells us that Thomas is also called Didymus (John 11:16, John 20:24, John 21:2).  I would hazard a guess that the first thing that came to your mind however was Doubting Thomas.  That moniker isn't in the scripture but has been given to him because of the events Of John 20:24-29.  Here Thomas refuses to believe that Jesus was resurrected until he sees the physical proof that the other apostles received (John 20:20).  Jesus does appear and shows him just what he asked for.  Because of this event, Thomas has been singled out as a Doubter.  I’m not sure that this is all that fair[1].  Other disciples were not so sure even when they had met the resurrected Jesus (Luke 24:37-40).  In fact, all the apostles got scolded for not believing the witnesses to his resurrection (Mark 16:13-14).  So why then does Thomas get the “doubting” nickname? ...

Monday morning scatter shooting while wondering why all the gold in California is in a bank in the middle of Beverly Hills. Does this seem like sane finical planning to you?    I was reading an article this week about how no one mails out bulletins anymore.  It lamented how many good thoughts and idea are no longer spread this way.  I understand that sentiment.  I used to read twenty or thirty different bulletins a week that came into the office. But over the years it dwindled to just four or five.  The Postal service with its rate increase and every changing bulk mail requirement has effectively killed the effort.  My new replacement is Twitter and the blog sphere.  Lots of good preacher will link to their writings. It never ceases to amaze me how many good idea I get from these posts. Sometimes I blatantly use the CASE method (Copy And Steal Everything) other times one line will take me into a totally new direction.  Ideas ...