faithrunner

Despicable Me USA Today recently reported on a study that concluded, "... U.S. society since 1960 has become increasingly focused on the self ." I'm not sure we needed a study of 750,000 plus books written in the US the last 52 years to verify the shift from 'we' to 'me;' but, quantitative evidence helps the sometimes skeptical who may not be paying attention . Individualism is a prominent trend in our culture--and a threat to the church as it was created to be. Let me jump to my question for discussion, "What does this trend have to do with the church, either the local church or as a movement of God's people?" My first response is for us to look at the language of our worship songs and sermons since 1960 . (Anyone out there looking for a PhD or DMin project?) My hunch is that our worship choruses have more "I's" and "Me's" than "Us's" and "We's." I do believe that trend ...

Mayan Calendars I have no scoop here. The buzz about the world ending on December 21, 2012 , has been around a while now. Movies , websites , and documentaries have all examined the Mayan 'Long Count' calendar that ends 12-21-12. Interpreted, it means, "The ancient, obscure calendar runs out, so time must run out." My question is, "So, why is the Mayan calendar the definitive dating of the end of things? " Many calendars have and do exist. For example, according to the Christian calendar it is AD 2012, or 2012 CE. That would also make it 1433 AH in the Islamic calendar and 5772 in the Jewish calendar . The Jewish New Year begins in September, and the Islamic New Year is in November. The Christian New Year is in January. Throw in the Chinese calendar, and it is 4710 , the year of the Dragon, and that new year will fall between late January to middle of February depending upon the lunar cycle. Before we get to my point, where did the three maj...

A blessing is ... ...an unearned, unexpected gift from either someone you know or a stranger that causes you joy or happiness. Most of us think of it as the prayer before a meal or some words a priest says over us. The blessing we received was neither of those. Kim and our family played in an unearned, unexpected gift given by Legacy Church last week. As part of their gift for our 25 years of shared ministry , they blessed us with two full days at Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, TX . No. Not just Kim and me, but our entire family! The event turned out to be more than time away from ministry and a Sunday off from preaching. It truly was a blessing ; a gift that gave us great joy that will linger for years to come. The first day of our waterpark adventure began on Kim's and my 37th wedding anniversary date, June 28 (1975) . We have celebrated our wedding anniversary many ways, but spending it at an indoor waterpark with thousands of our closest friends was a ...

Sunset Friday I spent this past Friday and Saturday outdoors. The days were hot, summer North Texas days, but I was outside the walls of my fabricated environments I dwell in most of the time, so the conditions did not matter. Friday afternoon I followed Chris and Jessica Branch up Preston Rd (289)  to Lake Texhoma outside Pottsboro to see and experience a youth camp they had attended and led since they were children.Chris' parents run the camp now. While it was hot and humid and we all wore "camp glow" (sweat) on our faces, I re-lived my days of camp. Climbing out of the rut of your routine, stepping into God's good creation, hearing God speak to you in a breeze, a bird's song, a friend's voice or a passionate teacher changes your heart. I believe such retreats from the war of our days are required to refresh and restore the soul. Lakeside Praise I liked the Native America motif and Gospel message of Camp Straight Arrow . Jessica was th...

Hatfields & McCoys DVD I recently watched the History Channel's mini-series Hatfields and McCoys . Anyone who is aware of Civil War era American history knows of this generational feud between these two infamous families. I recommend watching the series. Kevin Reynolds and Kevin Costner reunite to pull off an authentic, heart-tugging story of two men who preferred the taste of revenge to reconciliation . The writers tell the story of "Devil Anse" Hatfield's desertion from the Confederate Army before the war is over. Randall McCoy , with whom Hatfield served, never forgave him for deserting. Add in a child of an unwed McCoy fathered by a Hatfield, a couple of revenge killings, and rivalry over timber lands, and you have the beginnings of a feud that lasted generations. What caught my attention in the story was that Randall McCoy never let the Hatfield desertion go. He held on to it at every turn, and his hatred for Hatfield leaving him on the field of b...

I commuted this morning on my bike from my house to a men's small group and then from the group to my office . I met up with Jason along the way, and we made it without major incident from our homes to our destinations on the streets and bike trails of Plano . The reason I would blog about this is that our town is not really suited for commuting by bike on the streets .   Suburbs are built for cars, not bikes and pedestrians. Bicycles in this town are for recreation and sport, and walking is for exercise. Anything "everyday" is 99% done in a car. It's designed that way. Yes, the City of Plano is making strides to make motorists aware of bikes  on the streets (See below), but they are still dominated by motorized vehicles and angry drivers . I recently connected with a virtual acquaintance, Sean Benesh , who lives and commutes in Portland. He muses about such things as being Metrospiritual and creating a "bikeable" church. He has dipped in...

One of the hardest parts of leading is admitting you made a mistake, living with the consequences of that miss-take, and keeping followers on mission after you make it. Leaders are human, and no matter our training, experience, or talents, we can't see everything and we can't be right 100% of the time. This truth is why I appreciate the story about Joshua in in Bible . In Joshua 9 , we read how the leader of Israel was deceived into making a treaty with an enemy whom he would have destroyed. While the cleverness  of the enemy to survive is interesting, the better part of the story is how Joshua exhibited character in the midst of his failure as a leader . Read the story here . Here are some leadership lessons from this experience in Joshua's life. Take responsibility for your actions. Joshua did not play the blame game or whine he had been deceived, nor did he get into the politics of blame and point his finger at the elders who ratified the treaty by oath. ...