National Geographic ran an article about the Alaskan bull moose. The males of the species battle for dominance during the fall breeding season, literally going head-to-head with antlers crunching together…

Many years ago, when my sister, Marsha, was around 6 years old, she was invited to a sleepover at a friend’s house. Marsha was excited to receive the invitation and readily accepted it. When the evening of the sleepover arrived, she loaded her overnight bag into our family car. Then mom drove her to her friend’s house for the big adventure.

Mom returned home and we carried on with our normal evening routine. Around 9 P.M., the phone rang. Marsha’s friend’s mom was on the other end of the line. Marsha was really homesick and wanted to come home. Mom went and got her.

Many times, we’ll use the phrase, “I’m going home.” By this we mean we’re going back to the place where we sleep at night. But is this really our home, especially if we’re a disciple of Jesus? (more…)

Please take a moment and look at this picture. Several things are taking place at once. Some branches are vibrant. There is plenty of room for them to keep growing. Another branch is dying. One tree is completely dead. The dying and dead branches need to be removed if this cluster of trees is going to be as healthy as possible. Dead trees attract insects and diseases which can eventually spread to the heathy ones.

Our faith walk with Jesus is like this cluster of trees. Some areas are healthy and thriving because we can see how God is working in our lives. Other areas are dying because doubt has crept in after years of struggle. Perhaps there’s an area that’s completely dead because God didn’t answer our prayers the way we wanted him to answer them. Now this area of wrong thinking needs removed before it starts affecting other branches of our faith. (more…)

When I was in high school, a local business organization sent me an invitation to a dinner at a local restaurant. The purpose of the gathering was to give me information about a business symposium geared for future leaders. The group wanted to sponsor me.

Since the dinner was over a month away, I decided I’d deal with it later. I laid the invitation in my bedroom. It somehow got buried under other papers. Guess what happened?

You guessed correctly. I completely forgot about the invitation. That is until dad came into my room one evening and asked, “Son, did you get an invitation to a dinner about a business seminar?” He’d just gotten off the phone with a teacher who helped organize the meal.

“Yes,” I sheepishly replied, realizing what I’d done.

The next morning, I went into the teacher’s office and profusely apologized. I then told him I wasn’t interested in attending the event. He accepted my apology.

Ultimately, missing that dinner didn’t affect my life in any way. But what happens if we refuse an invitation to a banquet in heaven? (more…)

On more than one occasion, I’ve said, “I’m not a good Brethren.” This statement doesn’t bother some of you at all. But this leads others to wonder, “What does he mean he isn’t a good Brethren? We’re a Brethren congregation. He’s supposed to be a Brethren pastor.” Please let me explain what I mean by this statement.

Worship attendance in the Church of the Brethren in the United States has been in shrinking over the past several decades. Currently many congregations have no children or even young adults attending. Their doors are going to close unless things change. This has led to a decline in finances and ministry opportunities for our denomination.

Each year, representatives from every Brethren congregation are invited to send delegates to our Annual Conference, or the “big meeting” as they used to call it. This is where we worship, study the Bible and have insight sessions about the things which are happening in the denomination. We also have business meetings to adopt statements which define what our denomination believes and how we should live out our faith. (more…)

On February 18, 2018, I preached a sermon titled Loving Like Jesus. During that message, I showed a RightNow Media video clip called Community Safari. It was about a group of Christians who were riding around a neighborhood in a church bus viewing people the way an African safari looks at animals through the bus windows. They were taking pictures of a single mom who struggled with disciplining her children, a young married couple fighting on the front lawn and an elderly woman who fell in her driveway. No one got off the bus to help because they needed to let “nature take its course.” The clip concluded with the bus pulling back into the church parking lot while the host shared how great it was to be back in the safety of the church. Obviously, this was a spoof that challenged us Christians to think about how we’re engaging the world around us.

I then shared the following 5 points that disciples of Jesus should be doing in their everyday lives.

How to Share Jesus with Those Around Us:

1) Stop judging non-Christians.

2) Empathize with non-Christians.

3) Hang out with non-Christians.

4) Pray for the unchurched.

5) Live out my faith authentically.

A few days after I preached that sermon, a member of our congregation said, “The sermon on Sunday was good. But how do we get off the bus?” That’s a valid question. The points I gave are good biblical and theological instructions. But what does that look like in real life? (more…)

Please go back into your childhood and remember some special relatives that are no longer with you. Who are they?

I remember Uncle Ralph and Aunt Carrie. They were my great uncle and aunt on my mother’s side of the family. Uncle Ralph was 6’5” tall with a blocky frame. Aunt Carrie was 4’11” and weighed 100 pounds soaking wet. They loved to spend time with their family. Short visits with them weren’t possible. If you wanted to talk with them for two hours, you needed to start leaving fifteen minutes into the visit. It took at least an hour and a half to get from their kitchen to the car.

I have fond memories of the times they came to see us. Not only did I appreciate their company, I also enjoyed the gifts they brought me every time they arrived. They gave me toys. That is, until I got a little older. Then things changed.

When I was about six years old, they came for a visit. I watched Aunt Carrie’s hand disappear into the top of the bag she was carrying. She was going to get my treasure. What could it be? What new toy would I be playing with that afternoon?

After a couple of seconds, Aunt Carrie pulled her hand out of the bag. She handed me my new treasure. A pair of socks.

Socks. Who wanted socks? Not me. And evidently my face showed it. After they left, my dad said that when I saw them, my facial expressions made it obvious I wasn’t happy with what they gave me.

Soon after that, they quit bringing me gifts when they visited. I assume it’s because I was getting older. (more…)

Do you know of any job that’s harder than being a mother? It has to be one of the most difficult jobs any woman will ever have. The amount of time, energy and love that’s required to be a mother seems to be limitless at times. Yet, somehow you ladies do it. For that, we say, “Thank you.”

However, as mother’s get older and gain some experience, they learn there are different, and perhaps even better ways, to be a parent. The following list comes from humormatters.com. It’s called

The Evolution of Motherhood

Yes, parenthood changes everything. But parenthood also changes with each baby. Here are some of the ways having a second and third child differs from having your first:

Your Clothes:

1st baby: You begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as your OB/GYN confirms your pregnancy.
2nd baby: You wear your regular clothes for as long as possible.
3rd baby: Your maternity clothes ARE your regular clothes. (more…)

Do you know of someone who no longer serves in ministry or no longer attends worship services because someone has said or done something unloving to them? Unfortunately, some Christians can be very selfish and very unloving towards others when they don’t get their way. As followers of Jesus, we aren’t supposed to act this way.

Colossians 3:12-15 says, “¹² Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³ Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴ And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

¹⁵ Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”

The peace of Christ in us should make us the most peaceful and loving people on earth. Is this how people outside of the church view Christians? Is this how your family, co-workers and family view you?

One reason some Christians aren’t known for being peaceful and loving is because often they can easily get distracted from what’s really important and start focusing on, and even arguing over, things that don’t matter at all. So, with that being said, what should we be focusing on? (more…)

Recently I had a conversation with someone who is going through some very difficult life struggles. The conversation started with me asking, “How are you doing?” She started talking about the stress on her and her family. After a few minutes, she said, “Sometimes I get mad at God because of what’s happening.” Before I could say anything, she immediately said, “That’s when I feel his presence the most.”

This brings us to an important question. Is it OK to be mad at God? That’s a theological question many people ask. If we think about it, we realize this question doesn’t really get to the heart of the matter. There’s a better question to ask. Instead of asking, “Is it OK to be angry with God?” the better question is, “Why am I angry with God?”

The answer is usually very simple. Merriam Webster defines “anger” as “an intense emotional state induced by displeasure.” We get angry with God because we’re displeased life isn’t going our way. We blame him for what’s happening. He should have done something to prevent our pain. (more…)