Risk-Takers or Risk-Makers?
Someone showed me some statistics this week that really frighten me. In fact, my heart has been burdened ever since these stats were brought to my attention. “Goals of Gen Next vs. Gen X”(Pew Research Center for the People & the Press survey, Sept-Oct 2006 as seen in USA TODAY) Get Rich Become Famous Help
The Tyranny of the Telephone
I don’t do phones. I hate them. I don’t have one in my home (my wife has a cell though), and when I get a “pink slip” message at the office I go to the Internet and look up the person and write them an email instead of returning their phone call. In fact, when
It’s Sad We Have to Talk About This (Part 2)
A few months later, I was fired from the church I served in Jackson. There were several reasons given. One—I had challenged the finance committee about taking part of a love offering at a concert and using it to build a fence around the church property to keep the black kids (not the word they
Psalm 10
How Near Is God? (Psalm 10:1-11) David was in trouble again. As you read the Book of Psalms, you see that David was in and out of trouble. Some people tell us that if you are a Christian and you really love the Lord, you’ll never be in difficult places. That wasn’t true of Moses.
Jesus Hates Clutter
At the beginning of the New Year, there are plenty of tips in magazines to help you with your resolutions. Weight loss tips abound, but it now seems that there is a lot of information on helping you to organize your workspace and get rid of clutter in your life. True anti-clutter freaks pride themselves
Like a Child
Earlier this week, I was sitting in the school parking lot waiting to pick up my daughter, when my attention was captured by a group of kindergarten children playing. The sounds of laughter and excitement filled the air while they ran and played. As I watched this scene unfold, my mind raced back in time
Congratulations to You!
If you are reading this congratulations! You have been named Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year.” That’s right—they named you, the ordinary person who uses the Internet to read and write and watch as the person who most influenced the year’s events. And, if you’ve commented on past articles you should appear even closer to
It’s Sad We Have to Talk About This (Part 1)
George Aiken wrote, “If we were to wake up some morning and find that everyone was the same race, creed and color, we would find some other cause for prejudice by noon.” I grew up in the deep south. When I was growing up, racism and prejudice seem to have been the accepted norm. I
Psalm 9
Psalm 9:7-12: Safest Protection in the World In verses 7-12 we are talking about one great truth–the safest and strongest protection you have is in the name of the Lord. “And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; for You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You” (v. 10). As
The Discipline of Reading
Written by: Brian G. Hedges (As seen in Pastor Connect from Life Action Ministries www.lifeaction.org)Reprint permission granted. A significant part of a preacher’s work is book work. We simply cannot feed the sheep if we are not feeding ourselves, and the primary way we feed ourselves is by reading. But the threats against a pastor’s reading are many. We
Is Marriage Worse for Women Than Men?
I’m going to ask an indelicate question this week. Forgive me, but it is homecoming weekend. Many of us here on campus we’ll see again what we see every year: marriage seems to treat many of our men graduates far better then the women. While it is not true in all cases, it is true
When It’s Time to Go
Too often, staff members and pastors leave a church and burn bridges. I’ve done it. As a youth minister, I left a church under less than the best of conditions. I was young, immature and foolish in the way I responded. I thought people needed to know my side of the story. They didn’t. I