A friend of mine in ministry was leading a stewardship campaign. He told his congregation about the studies of Elizabeth Kubler Ross. She was a trailblazer in the study of how people die. Some of her work seems simple now but she was a pioneer. When she reviewed the thousands of interviews Read More...
Easter asks us to name what we worry about and bring it to God. Easter asks us to face the things that we are afraid of the most (like death and taxes!) and place them on a cross shaped altar. Easter says “forget about being in control and give yourself to God.” Read More...
The Bible is an amazing collection of writings. They were collected over hundreds of years. Reading the Bible thoughtfully reveals that there is a wide variety of styles and forms within this sacred treasury. One can find history, poetry, hymns, letters, sermons, legal documents, and more. Within the books themselves there are Read More...
Have you heard the story of a man who is dying at home in bed? He could smell the aroma of chocolate chip cookies – his favorite – baking in the kitchen. He was on his death bed but he wanted just one more cookie before he died. He crawled out of Read More...
My friend Russell, a preacher, says that every one of us deals, every moment of every day, with great temptation. That temptation is hurting us; that temptation is killing the church.The temptation he is talking about is probably not what you might think. The temptation he has in mind is the temptation Read More...
My Feb. 12 sermon, “The Modern Church,” received a great amount of comment. I am grateful for the many kind words. Many of our younger members have contacted me with their thoughts and ideas on how we might move as a congregation into this new era. I am grateful for their willingness Read More...
The weather outside has been delightful but the long winter nights have been the perfect set up for reading some terrific books. Here’s what’s gotten my attention lately. The Naked Now, by Richard Rohr, is one of the best books I have read in the last couple of years. He takes a Read More...
I’ve spent a lot of time the last couple of weeks working on sermon series ideas for the new year. Lara, our Director of Communications, and Lauren, our Director of Church Growth, were very helpful in this process. They let me know what sounded interesting and what sounded like an invitation to Read More...
“Just be you” were the words John spoke to me a few years ago when I went into the soundproof room to record a radio ad for the Christmas Eve service. That’s pretty good advice for most of us, most of the time but it was a little strange in that moment. Read More...
Writer Anne Lamott says that the most important prayers are “Thank you,” and “Help.” There is great truth in her simple proclamation. I dare say most of us, including myself, have a hard time with these sincere prayers. One of the most difficult things I had to learn to do in my Read More...
The man in the weight room lifting weights next to me looked like he was about 85 years old, give or take a couple of years in either direction. He was seated, lifting ten pound barbells over his head. He was fit and trim. Like me he was doing a series of Read More...
The Rev. Prof. Peter Gomes died on Mon., Feb. 28. He was 68 years old. You may remember that he lectured and preached here at Country Club Christian Church on Jan. 20 and 21, 2007. One week after his death I am still grieving this terrible loss. Just two weeks ago, as Read More...
My wife Julie and I love going to movies. The first movie we saw together was the original Star Wars. During our years in grad school we couldn’t afford to eat out at restaurants or attend concerts. However, we found that student discounts at movie theaters combined with matinee prices often made Read More...
My old college buddy Bob Cornwall is one of the smartest guys I know. He’s written a study guide on the book of Ephesians that would be an excellent small group resource. Bob combines the mind of a scholar and the heart of a pastor in this participatory study guide on Ephesians. Read More...
Have you ever noticed that some of the most popular Christmas carols deal with very serious issues? We sang the hauntingly beautiful Advent carol, O Come, O Come Emmanuel, on the first Sunday of Advent. It calls on God to put to flight “death’s deep shadows.” I suppose the somber tone of Read More...
