A caricature is defined as “a picture, description, or imitation of a person or thing in which certain striking characteristics are exaggerated in order to create a comic or grotesque effect.” You have probably seen a caricature drawing in political cartoon.

Unfortunately caricatures are not limited to thought-provoking cartoons in newspapers. They are also represented in pictures, stories and cartoons that fill the internet. Politicians are one of the most frequent people groups that are caricatured, but Christians are probably the second most popular.

There are several portrayals that I am tired of seeing –

1. Uneducated – The idea is that most Christians are not very smart. They reject science they don’t read and they generally reject good reason.

I have never found this representation to be true. Most of the people I have served are college educated and very knowledgeable people. In fact, most of them know about their religion, a little about other religions, about history, psychology, philosophy and politics. Most pastors I know have multiple degrees and continue to take classes until their ministry ends. The majority of Christians I have encountered read, study and discuss so that they continue to grow.

2. Mean – The idea is that many Christians are hard-hearted with little tolerance of those who disagree with their beliefs.

Most of the Christians I know are the kindest people in my life. The donate time at food pantries, homeless shelters and numerous projects for the benefit of others. The share their money, their food and even their time. They are the first to show up after a tragedy and the last to leave when others are struggling. Christians are typically the kindest and nicest people I know.

3. Crazy – This view comes from the belief system that Christians posses. They have a belief rooted in the teachings of the Bible. The Bible does contain stories that are hard to accept. There is a story with a talking snake along with one of a talking donkey and there a stories of numerous miracles that are hard to explain.

While they are hard to explain to people, believing them does not you crazy. In fact, almost everyone I know believes in something greater than the physical world. I know people who have belief in fate, destiny and Karma. Some people even believe they affect their favorite team by the shirt they wear, the position of their hat or some other strange superstition. Maybe crazy is in the eye of the beholder.

I grow weary of the ongoing caricatures of Christian. Most of them are the blown up pictures of just a few random individuals or groups. Part my life is spent proving the skeptics wrongs. I hope you will join me in showing these people that their picture of Christians are wrong, not only with our words but with our actions.

As a child I saw the world as a place filled with hope, love and wonder. Somewhere along the way my view of the world changed. My heart slowly began to turn to stone toward others. It may have been the result of seeing too many news stories about the evils of people. It may have been the result of too many ugly experiences. It might have been the result of the selfishness of my own heart taking over.

I am not sure how it happened. I am not really sure when it happened. But in retrospect I can see that by the time I graduated high school my heart had grown hard toward other people and the struggles they faced. Most of my world was really just about me. I thought I had the world figured out and I didn’t understand why other people had not come to the same conclusions at which I had arrived. I now picture myself like a stone with jagged edges that could be used only to hurt others.

Through the years God has taken me on a journey to soften my heart and smooth out my edges. Losing my best friend softened me to the loss of loved ones. Failing in ministry has made me sympathetic to the people who finish last. Marital struggles changed my views of love and commitment. Having children made me give up my hard selfish ways. Helping my parents in their old age has changed my view of senior citizens.

Over time the rough edges have been smoothed down. My hard heart is slowly becoming soft.

I don’t know if this is everyone’s story, but it is my story. I sometimes think that part of God’s grace is allowing me to live long enough to become more Christlike.

Over the last two weeks I have repeatedly seen articles and blogs posted on the internet that use the Bible. Each time someone was trying to prove why we should not really listen to the Bible. They quoted some random Old Testament verses and said, “See, no one believes that anymore.”

Each time I read these articles the hair stood up on the back of my neck. They were like fingernails running down a chalkboard. The Bible was misinterpreted, misapplied and ultimately misunderstood. My biggest fear is that people are listening to these articles as accurate. People are believing total misrepresentations of the truth.

So on behalf of all Bible believing Christians let me say, “Beware of bad Bible.” Just because someone can quote the Bible doesn’t mean they really understand it.

Let me also give you one huge rule for understanding the Bible: CONTEXT IS KING

Whenever you hear a verse of scripture then ask yourself, “What is the context of that statement?” Here a few questions to help clarify that initial question.

1. Was it said in the context of the Old or New Testament? As Christians there is a huge difference between the two. Jesus fulfilled the Old and started the New. Our understanding of an Old Testament law is far different from a statement made by the Apostle Paul to the Church in one of his letters.

2. What type of literature is it? This is the question of genre. Was it history, law, a letter or was it poetry or wisdom literature? Different literature must be handled in different ways

3. What is the context of the surrounding verses? Lifting one line out of a paragraph can violate the original meaning. Sometimes this doesn’t matter especially in places like the Proverbs but in other places it is essential.

4. Does it fit the story of the whole Bible? Taking one line out of one book can also be misleading. The Bible is 66 books – 39 Old Testament and 27 New Testament. We need to make sure that the words of one book align with the words of another.

I believe that the Bible is not an overly complex book. What makes it difficult for most people to understand is that they have not read it in context. To understand a verse completely you need to read the whole paragraph, but also the whole book. Then not only the whole book, but also the whole Testament. Then not only the whole Testament, but also the whole Bible. Unfortunately that takes a lot of time and effort that most of us do not want to give. The sad result is that we listen to everyone who tries to explain it to us even if they are doing a lousy job. We must always beware of people using bad Bible, knowing the context will help us do that.

We are one week away from Father’s Day. Every year I spend this week preparing a program and a sermon that will happen on this day. Also, every year my mind turns toward my dad. This is especially true as my dad’s health is failing daily. He is rapidly losing weight and strokes are taking their physical toll. Every day may be the last one with my dad.

While my mind turns to my father and the program for father’s day I am reminded of the enormous impact that a father has on the life of his children. For today would you allow me to share a couple of ways that fathers can influence their children for God.

1. Pray With and For Your Children – Spend time talking to God about your children. Spend time talking to God with your children. You do not have control over their lives so ask the God who is in control to help you, guide you and protect them.

2. Model Faith – Read, learn, grow, serve and give. Your children will imitate your faith. Hear that again! Your children will imitate your faith. If you don’t read as an adult, they won’t. If you don’t grow, serve, give and show them what faith looks like as an adult, they will not know the way or go the way.

3. Attend Church – Demonstrate the importance of worship. Show them the value of other people with similar faith. Allow them to be taught by others who might know more than you. Point them toward other people’s faith to underline what they are seeing in you.

4. Avoid Worldliness – Children not only see what you do, they also see what you do not participate in. They hear that you do or do not use cuss words. They see what you do or do not drink. They see the ways you do or do not treat your spouse with love. They see the movies you do or do not watch. They know what is going on in your life. Your words may tell them one thing but they know if it aligns with your life.

5. Lead Christian Endeavors – Show your children the importance of doing things for God. Not just the importance of action but the need for leadership. The world is very confused about leadership and we need men who are willing to step up and move forward in faith. We need men who do not shy away from difficult answers, decisions and actions. Be a Christian who has strength and grit in a time when so few have it.

I know I have not had a perfect father. I know I have not been a perfect father. I do try to do better everyday. I hope and pray that all fathers are trying to do the same. May the Lord bless you on this journey as a parent.

This Sunday – June 12 – I will be launching a new sermon series at Adrian Christian Church. It is a four-week series based off of the life of an Old Testament judge named Samson. The sermon series is focused on men and the issues they face. Hopefully it will apply to those who love them and those who raise them.

This Sunday I will look at the issue of lust in the life of Samson. It will be an adult topic and I will not sugar coat the truth. Be ready.

Hope to see you Sunday.

June 12 “When Strong Men Are Weak”
June 19 “Emotions of Strong Men” (Father’s Day)
June 26 “Small Steps Toward Big Destruction”
July 3 “Failing Forward”

I believe there is one essential question that all believers must continually ask themselves. This one questions defines my actions and helps me to grow in my faith.

Here it is, “What is my next step on my journey of faith?”

Faith is about believing a core set of doctrines but it is not limited to head knowledge. Faith is about knowing the right things and then doing them. Too often these actions get moved to a theoretical someday. We will do this when we know the Bible more. We will do that when we have more time. As a result we tread the waters of a stagnant faith for years and years.

My hope is that you refocus your vision onto the step that is right in front of you. What step, either big or small, can you take that will stretch you and make you more obedient.

What does God desire from you? That is very personal. Where are you on your journey with God? Have you believed? Have you publicly proclaimed it? Have you been baptized? Have you tried to remove that sin from your life? Are you serving? Are you giving? Are you connecting? Are you growing? Where are you and what is your next step?

Faith is a journey that takes a lifetime. The only really important step is the one you are taking today. What step do you need to take on your journey of faith?

It is not one of my favorite worship songs. In fact, almost two years ago I wrote down a few lines in my Evernote notebook about a blog I wanted to write about it. I have read through my scattered lines over and over and have yet to craft it into a full-blown blog until today. The sad thing for me is that I have completely flip-flopped on my view of this song.

The song is a Christian praise song entitled “Oceans.” The opening lines are:

“You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail”

As a person of deep convictions about my faith I had intended to write about how God reveals the unknown to us when we follow him. Faith is a journey of following Jesus. He guides us through his words, his Holy Spirit and through his people.

I still believe those simple truths. My problem is that I stand with a lot of unknown territory before me right now. My oldest son is leaving home in two months for college and I am not sure of my role in his life. Then there is my father. His health continues to fail and I am not sure how to help him. He is clearly on the last leg of his race on earth and I do not know what to do. Finally, there is my Church. We have been trying to hire a children’s ministry with no success. We also need to hire a new secretary. This is the first week of ministry all alone with no other paid staff. I am hopeful for the future but I have no real control over any of the possibilities. For me, right now, life is full of the unknown.

The hard part is the overwhelming feeling that “my feet may fail.” I may make wrong choices. I may miss opportunities. I may not handle everything the way I should.

So what do you do when your journey leads out into unknown territory? Here is what I am doing.

1. Hold Onto the Promises of God – Hold onto the truth revealed in God’s word. God has promised us to never leave us forsake us.

2. Remember God’s Previous Work – I have seen God work in people’s lives during difficult times. I have seen his hand of mercy and guidance. I know he will do for me what he has always done for others.

3. Pray For Guidance – I ask God to lead me into my unknown future every day.

4. Ask for Support – Ask other people to pray. Ask other people for help.

5. Look For Open Doors – I firmly believe at one point God will show me the next steps. It may not be as quick as I would like, but guidance will come.

Oceans is still not my favorite worship song. I do think I understand it better. There are times in life the God leads us into the unknown. It might be a struggle. It might be hard. But keep your eyes on God and he will lead you through.

I am always keeping notes of the things God is teaching me. This is true whether I am in my office or on vacation. Here are a few of the notes I took the last week.

1. America is a Global Country. On our trip it seemed that everywhere we stopped we were surrounded by people of different races, cultures and beliefs. At our stop in the Wisconsin Dells I heard at least 4 different languages at the pool. One family we met would alternate between English and Spanish with every other sentence. The Church is told to “go into all the world” and we still have a huge need for overseas missionaries. We also need to understand that the world has come into our backyard and we can either ignore it or engage it.

2. The Value of Family. It didn’t matter who we met or where we went, almost everyone was on vacation with their children. Obviously that is connected to the places we visited too. If you go to a place for children then mostly children will be there. But I was interested in how most people, including my family, were out to give their children a good time. Children drive our country in many ways, how are Christians supposed to respond in our own lives and in our Churches?

3. The Packers Dream and the Future Church. We took a tour at Lambeau field and one of the stories caught my attention. Several years ago the Packers were about to fold when a new executive director had a dream. He realized they were only using their facility about 10-12 weeks a year. They held a couple preseason games, 8 regular season games and a playoff game or two. Most of the time the buildings were empty. They decided to change plans and make the facility a 363 day a year facility (closed on Christmas and Easter). They started hosting weddings and banquets, added a Hall of Fame and a Pro Shop, and they are currently building an adjoining park with a lake and trails. The team went from the last in revenue in the 1980’s to the 9th in revenue last year. While I heard this story I kept thinking about the Church. We get a little more use in our building, maybe 110 times a year. What if the Church became a 353 day facility? I am not interested in the revenue, but what about the impact for eternity?

4. The Value of Updating. Two nights in a row my family stayed in different hotels. One night it was a hotel that must have been built in the late 70’s or early 80’s. They had done nothing to the hotel since it was built. It was run down, dirty and empty. The next hotel looked to have been built near the same time and it had recently been completely remodeled. The place had nice new carpet, a great bathroom, a clean look and it was full. I was reminded that in the Church we can either grow old and lose people or grow old and connect with people. The difference might be in how much we are willing to change.

These were some of the big things I noticed while out on the road. What are you noticing this year?

My family and I just returned from our Road Trip 2016. We spent about 24 hours of actual drive time going from Adrian Missouri to Green Bay Wisconsin then the Wisconsin Dells and finally to the Mall of America. We stayed in 5 hotels and lived out of our suitcases for 7 full days.

This trip was one of the many trips I have made with my family through the years. We have traveled to Florida twice, Lake Erie, Alaska and back again, to Anchorage while in Alaska, to our parents repeatedly, and occasionally a one to three hour trip to anywhere we could drive.

This trip was a little bitter-sweet. My oldest son just graduated high school and this might be our last road trip together as a whole family. There is a good chance he will return home next summer and we might be able to do it one more time, but I am not getting my hopes up.

For us the family vehicle has been more important than the family dinner table. Many studies show the value of a family sitting down to share a meal and having quality conversation. We have enjoyed those times but the family vehicle has been far more important. We have traveled together and have seen the country together. We have seen the sights and shared the experiences. We have eaten all kinds of wonderful food at hundreds of restaurants. Our trips have been our time together as a family.

My simple thought for today is to find a family time for yourself. Find something you enjoy with your family and spend time doing it together. Maybe it’s traveling, maybe it’s eating, maybe it’s sports or maybe it is one of a thousand other activities.

Resist the urge to have him do his thing, her do her thing, and the kids do something else. Great families are not forged in the separate time of the individual. Rather they are the result of enjoying the blessings of God together.

Here are a few of my favorite Christian songs as of late. You may or may not have heard them. You will not like all of them unless you are exactly like me (and I doubt that). The first four are more worship style songs and the last three are more rap/hip-hop style music that my children like. I hope you enjoy some of them.

“Fierce” by Jesus Culture (Featuring Chris Quilala)

“O Praise the Name (Anastasis)” by Hillsong Worship

“No Other Name” by Hillsong Worship

“God and God Alone” by Passion (feat. Chris Tomlin)

“Oh Lord” by NF – This is a slower Christian rap that I really like.

“Mansion” by NF (featuring Fleurie) – Another rap song I like

“Start Over” by Flame (featuring NF)