Part of her job was to show up early and pick up trash. And she was exemplary.

Part of the requirement to be in this group was to arrive early and pick up trash. He desperately wanted to be involved, so he was there every morning with his gloves and bag ready to do the work.

The real test of character is when she changes jobs. Will she still show up early and help, or was it only part of her job? Will he still show up when he is no longer a part of the group, and it is no longer required of him?

People who follow Jesus are willing to show up even when it is not their job. They help out even when it is not required of them. They volunteer because they know that Jesus came to serve and not to be served.

The Church may have some paid staff and required positions, but the kingdom is built by volunteers who often go unnoticed and unrecognized.

Many thanks to everyone who serves selflessly in the Church every week – God knows who you are.

It is fun to dream for the future. It is exciting to spend an afternoon imagining where your life will go and the experiences you will enjoy.

One part of following God is that life is a grand adventure.

Abraham was happy, settled near his family, and content living out his days with his wife. Then God told him to pack up and move to an unknown place. God would give him a family, and the end of his story would be a testimony of faith to future generations.

David was a shepherd boy. I am sure he dreamed of a farm life. He had plans of flocks and herds with a wife and his 2.3 kids. Yet, God called him from the pasture to the throne room. His life was a story about a man after God’s heart.

Saul was established as a religious leader and was zealous for the God of the Hebrew scriptures. One day, while traveling for work, the skies break open, and suddenly, he was a missionary for Jesus. His story ends with him writing much of the New Testament and dying as a martyr of the Christian faith.

As long as you have breath in your lungs, God has a plan for you. That plan may push you to do things and go places you have never dreamed of.

Part of following God is knowing that your road will twist and turn in unexpected ways. You will encounter detours, backroads, and slow traffic.

People often ask me about my plans, and I timidly tell them what I am currently thinking. In reality, I have no idea what God has in store for me, and I am just following where he leads me.

Faith is never a set path; it is a journey of the unexpected. Anything less, and you are probably following your dreams instead of God’s will.

I often pray that people will not remember me based on one bad day.

There was that time I had not slept well in three nights, and I was extra irritable. I snapped at my wife, was short with my staff, and was downright mean to the waiter. Then, there was that day when nothing seemed to go right. The mail contained a large bill I thought was paid, the battery on the van was dead due to my own failure, and the Wi-Fi was down at work. This all resulted in my being filled with rage during every interaction.

Over the years, there have been countless days when I was not the person Jesus would want me to be. I can give you excuses, but ultimately, I let my anger win and failed to be a positive example to others in Jesus’ name.

I hope and pray people forget those days. I want them to forgive me. I do not want my identity to be defined by one or a few bad days. 

While I hope that others will not judge me that way, my more significant prayer is that I do not form my opinion of others based on their one bad day. The forgiveness I desire must also be extended to others.  

No one should have their life categorized by one lousy interaction. No one.  

I keep journals, Evernote files, and Word Documents filled with lists of ideas. Blog ideas, sermon series concepts, Church projects, and future dreams are all recorded in their proper location for regular reviewing. 

Some of these items have been on my mind for years. Yet, for a variety of reasons, the timing is not right at the moment. About every month, I read through them, pray over them, and search my soul to see if I feel anything coming together. Occasionally, an idea from eight years ago will spark for numerous reasons, and I know it is time to see it come to fruition.

Not every thought is a great one for the current season. But it may be a great idea, and the timing is not correct. Many concepts need a long mental soak before they are ready.

One part of leadership is determining not just what happens but when. 

Saying that you believe Jesus is your Lord and Savior. You have found his words to be true, his resurrection to be a fact, and he has changed your life. This is an excellent series of topics. People will listen and possibly nod their heads in agreement. But it is not engaging.

Saying that you once made a series of poor choices that led you down a destructive path. No one noticed, but you were dying a little each day. With each new conquest, you thought the pain in your soul would disappear, and it only intensified. Slowly, every day became a mental battle with self-worth and self-doubt. When you hit rock bottom, you discover the bottom could fall out, and the depth of your emotional emptiness could reach a new level. You moved back home hoping to find love and acceptance, but time had changed your most solid relationships.

It was in this freefall that Joe stepped into your life. He was a coworker whose life seemed to be so full of joy. He was always positive, even when you knew he was having a difficult day. He always took time to talk to you and appeared genuinely concerned. One day, Joe invited you to Church, and for some unknown reason, you found yourself saying yes. Sure, you regretted agreeing and thought about canceling, but you went anyway. The people were friendly, and all the horror stories you had heard about Church didn’t come true for you. The music was uplifting, and the sermon was not that boring. A few weeks later, you returned, and then you went again and again. After a few months of sporadic attendance, you decided to join a small group at Joe’s house. Everyone was kind, and you started thinking that Jesus might be okay. Over the next few months, your connections got stronger, and your convictions began to grow. Eventually, you stood up one Sunday, proclaimed your faith, and were baptized.

Since then, your life has been different. You are full of joy and have friends who want the best for you. You have attended classes to learn what and why you believe. Your life is steadily improving as you let go of the past and face each new day with faith.

That is more than a conversational topic. It is a story that people will listen to and then tell their friends.

Most people are not interested in your doctrinal thoughts about Jesus; they want to know how he has impacted your life. Learning to tell that story well is the key to engaging people with the gospel message.

In 2015, I bought a house that had been built in 1994 and had been treated well. We painted, added new carpet and some lighting, and it was ready to use. In 2017, we bought the house next door. It had experienced a massive fire, and the only course of action was to tear all of it down and build new on the space.

This is a question that should be asked in every area of life. When you realize that your behavior needs to change, you must consider whether this is a remodeling project or a total rebuild.

Some of your habits may simply need to be modified. You have been a good, moral person, and your leap of faith did not require much more than adding Jesus.

But many of your actions might need a complete overhaul. You have built your life doing the same thing your parents did. Moral thinking was not part of your consideration. Nothing you did was producing the type of career, family, or personal satisfaction that Jesus desires for you.

Paul tells the Christians in Ephesus, “With regard to your former way of life, put off your old self” (Ephesians 4:22). The old needed to go to make room for the new.

One reason so many Christians struggle to experience the life God desires for them is that they are trying to remodel a condemned structure. Perhaps the best thing to do is start over.

They are defined as “a mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing.” The online dictionary goes on to say, “Paraphrasing an unpalatable topic, this figure of speech uses soft or flowery language to create an indirect expression.” For example, we typically say “passed away” instead of the blunter “died.”

Lately, I have noticed several other far more subtle euphemisms people use, especially at Church.

“We hope to be there.” This can mean, “We will not be there.”  

“They are always so busy.” This can mean, “They will not be willing to serve in any ministry.”

“He is a good guy.” This can mean, “He is nice but has no spiritual depth.”

“She is a social butterfly.” This can mean, “She likes to party.”

“He is a really hard worker.” This can mean “He is seldom at home with his family.”

“She knows a lot about everyone.” This can mean, “She is a gossip.”

“They are very determined.” This can mean, “They are hard-headed and hard to deal with.”

This makes communication with other Christians, even within the Church, very complicated. So, I want to offer everyone two challenges. First, say what you mean. Push yourself to speak the truth in love. Second, lean in and listen to what people mean, not just what they say. Sometimes, a euphemism can be a cry for help, but people don’t have the courage to be direct with an unpleasant topic. 

Short blog posts are more complicated to write than longer ones.

What do you leave in? What do you take out? There is so much to say about every topic. There is a fear of not saying enough and being misunderstood. Maybe I should write more just to be safe.

One simple thought is enough to digest. Choose the right words and be done.

This is true in blog posts, sermons, lessons, and even conversations about Jesus.

Always leave them wanting more instead of being happy that you finally stop talking.

“Everything appears perfect” is not the same as “everything is perfect.”

Appearances can be deceiving – especially those shown to us online through social media.

One thing I am convinced of after all my years of ministry is that nothing is as it appears. People are struggling, relationships are a mess, and sin is still ruining people’s lives. No matter how good people make things seem.

Be careful not to compare your reality to someone else’s pictures. It will lead you down a rabbit hole of anxiety, depression, bankruptcy, guilt, sadness, loneliness, and shame.

Everyone has issues on the other side of the camera. Everyone.

The Pastor launched into a rant about why his view was correct, and other Churches and Christians were wrong. I had never heard of the particular argument he used, but it captured my attention and sent me searching.

Thankfully, living in the year 2024, it is easy for me to Google search and find articles of all types about the topic. There were those who supported what he was saying and those who were adamantly opposed. Within an hour, I had read numerous pages of material and was able to get to the heart of the matter.

Then, I was able to assess all sides of the argument and reach a logical, well-thought-through understanding.

What I could quickly gather was that this Pastor had heard this one argument and then never researched the conclusion. His statements were made without context and understanding of the bigger situation. He clearly had not read any arguments contrary to his conclusion for equal understanding.

So, this post is a simple plea. If you are going to develop convictions about meaningful issues, please spend some time doing your research. Today, there is no excuse for distributing misinformation unless you are only looking for arguments that support an already formulated conclusion. In that case, it is not a fact; it is an opinion.