Nick’s Walk

For almost everyone today will be an ordinary day. They will do pretty much what they do every day and a week from today they won’t be able to tell you anything special about today. But for some it will not. For some it will be the first day of their lives. They won’t remember it but will be told about it for as long as they live. The circumstances of today, their parents, the nation and place of their birth will impact their lives forever. For their parents it will be a special day. For most it will be happy. They will think about it often when the see the child grow and blossom and multiply. For others not so much. They will worry about their ability to feed and care for their new charge or whether the child will live for a day, a week or a year. They may be ashamed of the child and never wish to speak of the circumstances which brought the new life forward.  For others it will be special because they will marry the person they were destined to be with forever. For some they will start a new career or move […]

I had a nightmare last night. I was in court for the first day of trial and my client wasn’t there. I had this vague fear that I had forgotten to remind him about the trial date. Every effort I made to contact him was frustrated. My phone didn’t work. The phone I was loaned was more complicated than a nuclear power plant. This is a common theme in my nightmares. Sometimes I am back in the navy or in school (a nightmare in itself) and I am unable to complete some assignment no matter what I do.  I have completely lost control. Isn’t that really the nightmare of our lives: a total lack of control. That no matter what we do some past forgotten decision of ours has put us in a situation where we face disaster and can do nothing about it. It is said we face about 225 decisions a day. Some of us go through the day without much thought (not good) others obsess over each decision and are crippled in life by indecision.  Obviously most of these decisions are extremely minor and we make them completely out of habit: getting out of bed, brushing our teeth, […]

Galatians 2:20 New International Version (NIV)  and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. who loved me 

10 I appeal to you, brothers (and sisters), by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no in the same mind and the same judgment. 1 Corinthians 1:10. It is impossible to be involved in the preparation for a Kairos weekend without gaining a renewed appreciation for the importance of unity in the church. It is inspiring to watch men and women, black and white, Methodist, Catholic, Episcopalian,  Baptist and non-denominational work together for a common purpose.  After having done these for 16 years, it is also clear to me that Satan’s best shot at harming the mission is to sow disunity. He makes a stab at it every time. He gets in our heads and points out differences and idiosyncratic habits. He will blow up and distort harmless comments. He will appeal to ego trying to sow envy based on the assignment of jobs or talks. He will throw up road blocks. We all know how Sunday morning seems the toughest morning to get the family going if we are planning to attend church. Satan does that in spades when we try to be involved in an important mission. We won’t be able to find […]

Psalm 150 English Standard Version (ESV) Let Everything Praise the Lord 150 sanctuary;    praise him in mighty deeds;    praise him according to his excellent trumpet sound;    praise him with harp! 4  Praise him with dance;     praise him with pipe!5 Praise him with sounding everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! This week lots of our kids and kids from outside the church “Got Their Praise On.” This happened because some volunteers were willing to give a week of their time and (as this photo demonstrates) a considerable amount of their dignity to the cause.  As a result kids had fun and learned a bit more about Jesus. Some of them took this enthusiasm and knowledge back to homes that really need it. For the past weeks we’ve been talking about being followers instead of just fans. This week some folks we all know did that. We’ve talked about being radical. These folks did that as well. And, as a result, some kids and their families are better for it. So when you head to church this morning, leave some of those inhibitions at home and be a follower, get a little radical, and be willing to “Get Your Praise On.” You know you want to and we know you need […]

Only our heavenly Father is perfect and relationships are complicated. So most of them could use a bit more honesty and a lot of forgiveness.  If you were to believe Father’s Day cards and the things we say on Father’s Day you would think there were a ton of perfect fathers out there. We know better. We would do ourselves some good if we would bring some honesty into our observance of Father’s Day. For most of us our dads did the best they knew, but what they knew wasn’t nearly enough. Most of us carry some scars and have issues with our dads. For some of us, there was no present dad or we would have been better off if he had been out of the picture. But as we get older it’s just not cool to tell it like it is. I don’t recognize the guy my daughter describes as the father she remembers from her childhood, thank God.  Built up resentments and hurts don’t help anyone. So, first of all, let’s be honest. Dad could have done better. But let’s also remember that only the Heavenly Father is perfect. So how about a little forgiveness. Dad […]

Tell me, when did feminine gifts become synonymous with Christian goodness? Early Christians were known for risk taking, power, aggression, and heroic sacrifice. But somewhere in church history, somebody monkeyed with the definition of a Christian! Today, a good Christian is known mostly for meekness, sensitivity, passivity, and sweetness. This standard of Christian behavior is very tough on men (even those who are sold out to Jesus) while it’s easier for women to achieve. Men have gotten this message: you’re flawed the way God made you. You need an extreme makeover. (You need to be more like a woman.) And we wonder why men hate going to church. Why Men Hate Going to Church, David Murrow With Father’s Day on Sunday and a Men’s Meeting at church tonight it seemed a good time to consider why it’s so hard to get men to connect with church.  Here are some reasons why most men do NOT connect with church. Men are not challenged at church. Challenge is the love language of men. Men thrive on challenges. Men want to save the world, defeat the enemy and kill the dragon. Most church messages are focused on relationships and love, things men need […]

Recently I blogged about Christian maturity. I think I made some good points, but I also missed some. I read an article recently about 10 things I wish I had known when I was 21.  I thought that was a rather catchy title. But once I read the list I realized that it included things I still haven’t learned at 63. Maybe a better title would be 10 THINGS I WISH I HAD LEARNED BY NOW. With my alternations here they are: 1. Everyone needs to be healed from something. It seems none of us gets full grown without some damage. We could all use a little healing from the scars of growing up.  2. Mercy is greater than justice. Isn’t it time we stop looking for justice for the bad guys and mercy for us. Said another way, isn’t it time we realized, “I looked for the bad guy and found him in my mirror.  3. Kindness is better than being right.  Like Yogi I’ve always considered myself “smarter than the average bear.” It’s no good to be smarter. Folks don’t care what you know ’til they know you care. You’ve heard that one for years, so how come you haven’t […]