Thanks to anyone who reads this blog. It started as a way to capture my thoughts and illustrations for future use or reflection. It has grown into a practice that stretches me toward critical thinking about my beliefs, my actions and the deep parts of my life.

This past week I traveled to Indiana to see my parents and then bring them back to Missouri to see my boys. They have never seen my boys play Jr. High or JV or Varsity football. Six months ago my dad had a stroke and he has improved greatly but still struggles with his speech and a lack of energy. I have been trying to help him in every way possible. For example, while in Indiana I roto-tilled his garden and cut several large limbs for him. That is why I drove to get them and bring them back.

As a result I have not had much time to blog but I have had a lot of time to think.

Here is what is on my mind right this moment –

1. Love the people in your life. I am so thankful my dad is still alive. Just seeing him brings me joy. Tell the people around you that you love them. No one knows what tomorrow brings.

2. Pray for the people in your life. My dad has come a long way and still has a long way to go. I am thankful for everyone who has prayed for him and continues to do so.

3. Live for the only thing that matters. No matter what happens to my mom or dad in the next few years. I rest in the fact that they love the Lord. Their life has been marked by love, compassion, service, leadership and faith in their family and their church.

I am going to be writing my blog again each day and hope that I challenge or encourage each of you. I will also be spending time with my family and savoring every minute God gives me. I hope you do the same.

I am not sure about the first line. Although some people have said I am “Special.”

But the second line is definitely true!!

I am a preacher who spends a great deal of time each week preparing a sermon that will be encouraging and challenging while teaching about the Bible and faith in God. It is a big task that takes at least 8-12 hours each week. Then on Sunday I spend around 30 minutes of our time together speaking the words I have prepared. So I believe the sermon is an important part of Christian community.

With that said, I want to be clear to people that being a part of a Church is much more than hearing a sermon each week. In fact, I believe a life of faith is developed as much in all the other parts of Sunday morning as the sermon.

Each week I get to –

1. Fellowship with Other Believers. I love the opportunity to talk with people who have a faith like I do.

2. Vocalize My Praise of God in Song. I am not good at it, but I still love to do it.

3. Pray with a Community of Believers. I appreciate people who pray with me and even for me.

4. Commune with God at the Lord’s Supper. This is one of the central things our Church does each and every week.

5. Share My Gifts and Talents in Service. You can sing, teach and help in a variety of ways. The Church is built on volunteer service.

6. Hear & See the Lives and Stories of Other Believers. I appreciate the lives of our senior saints who have gone through so much. I also appreciate our young people who are trying to remain faithful with so much temptation.

7. A Chance to Share My Faith as Evangelism. Someone new will be at Church most weeks and I have the chance to share the message of Jesus – if only in my actions.

8. An Opportunity to Give Financially to the Cause of Christ. I want to share in the work of the Lord beyond Sunday morning. It takes money to do that.

9. Connect with One Another. Laugh with those who laugh and cry with those who cry. I love the hour of connection I have after worship each week.

10. Be a part of a group making a difference in the world. For example, our Church is currently collecting items to go in shoe boxes to be sent overseas.

I love the sermon each week and I fear many people have come to think of that one thing as Church. As a result they listen to the sermon on our website, they catch a sermon on TV or even hear one in the car and think they have had a Church experience. I believe that Church is much more and to miss a worship program on Sunday is to miss much of what a Church has to offer.

I did not find as much good reading on the web this week. Rather I found a lot of rehashing of the same old material. Here are a few interesting and unique reads for the weekend –

An open letter to my children; you’re not that great.

Why This Breast Cancer Patient Begs You to Stop and Think Before You Go Pink This October – See article at: http://margaretfeinberg.com/breast-cancer/#sthash.TZ5J9Ynp.dpuf
I found this to be a very interesting article that is well worth the time to read. Be warned – clicking the link will take you away from my blog (so click it last:-)

Accidental Saints – A trusted Christian leader gives a book review of Nadia Bolz-Weber – a lady who is creating a lot of buzz lately.

Attitude is a skill

No Skateboarding Signs and 8 Other Examples of Bad Non-Verbal Church Communication

10 Steps to Immediate Church Renewal & Growth (That Most Churches Won’t Take)

This past month we kicked off our Jr. and Sr. High youth group called RUSH (Short for “Are You Seeking Him”). First we held a kickoff party and then we started our weekly lessons. The first month was dedicated to serving in the name of Jesus. We watched and discussed a series of lessons by Max Lucado entitled “Made to Make a Difference.”

Each week we watched three different stories of people making a difference in the lives of others even though they are only teenagers. The stories ranged from teenagers who started programs that raise millions of dollars to young people who spend time visiting older adults at the nursing home. Over the past month we viewed 12 different teens making a difference.

After each video we had a time of discussion over what we had just seen. Each week we broke off into at least two different groups with girls and guys separate. A couple of weeks we broke it down even more by having the Jr. High kids completely separate. The discussion I was a part of was usually good although limited because I worked with the boys. These discussions gave me a few lessons I thought I would share about the teenagers who attended our group.

1. Most teenagers have good hearts. Most of the young adults who attended really do want to make a difference in the world. They like the idea of helping other people and many are actually involved in some project already. While we often hear about the selfish and angry teens that fill our world, we need to be reminded that there are some really good kids out there.

2. Most teens have very full schedules. While they want to do good for other people many of them have a limited amount of time. They are in school, have practice or games, extra clubs, youth group, homework and trying to have a social life. Their ability to do in the world is limited by their time more than their desire.

3. Teenagers enjoy all ages of people. It seems like every week ended with some discussion of how we could encourage the elderly or help needy children. I challenged the teens to step out do something in the name of Jesus last night and most of them wanted to spend time with older people in some way. They reiterated over and over how much they enjoy the stories, experiences and life of our senior adults. [Side note – if you are a senior adult be sure you make time for our teens. They really do enjoy it.]

4. Everyone has a heart to help somewhere. The teenagers were amazed at the number of ways they could help in the world. Some of them were outraged by modern day slavery while others were challenged to love those outside their circle of friends. It was interesting to see how some of the group really connected to helping in ways that others did not enjoy. I think everyone should find a way to serve that gets their heart pumping and fills them with excitement. What do you have a heart for?

5. All Christian Service is for the Glory of God. See Matthew 5:16. All of us, including teenagers, need to be continually reminded of this truth. Service is not for a line on an application or resume. It is about touching the world for Jesus.

I am sure if you asked the other leaders they would have different insights. Honestly, I really didn’t work with the girls so I have no idea what is going on in their heads. These are the lessons I learned in my time with a bunch of teenage boys.

It is a question I have heard dozens of time. Sometimes it is not even verbalized. It is conveyed in a roll of the eyes or the groan of disapproval. As we get older we get more sophisticated in our approach. We no longer ask the question out loud because we know the situation. The card file in our mind flips through a long list of excuses and we find one fitting for the occasion. “That is my family night” or “I give in other ways” or “I am already involved elsewhere” are often our veiled ways of pushing away tasks that have no benefit to us.

I say this not as a perfect example of service. I write this because I do it too. When asked to do anything my mind does a quick evaluation and tries to determine if I will benefit because of my participation. “Will I get paid to do this?” “Will there be some sort of recognition for my service?” “Now they owe me.”

While my natural inclinations are to do activities that will benefit me in some way I am called to something more by Jesus. In the book of Luke it Jesus says this:

Luke 6:32-35 If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even “sinners” love those who love them. (33) And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even “sinners” do that. (34) And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even “sinners” lend to “sinners,” expecting to be repaid in full. (35) But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

Jesus challenges us to be people who do good things even when there is no benefit to us. We love and we do good and we loan all without a hope of getting anything in return.

I find this teaching to be one of the most unnatural things that Jesus tells us. My human nature wants me to spend my time doing things that benefit me. Jesus wants me to spend my doing things that benefit others.

I don’t know about you but I need to be continually reminded that the biggest question of my activities is NOT, “What’s in it for me?”

Lately I have spent a lot of time watching football. My four sons are on three different teams and of course we are watching the Packers. Then whenever we have a quiet moment at home I turn on the TV and watch any game that is being played.

Having watched a lot of football ranging from kids in Pee Wee football through professional players who make the hall of fame I have come to a couple of conclusions. First, some people are naturally talented. I have watched and read about the great Bo Jackson who never really worked out and lifted weights yet had amazing strength. I know of KC great Derrick Thomas who hated to practice and often treated it like a joke. I could go on and on with names of people who were just born with something special.

The second thing I notice is that there are some people who can develop themselves through training. Sure they have some natural talent but it is often limited. As a result they commit themselves to countless hours of training. They throw the ball over 10,000 times to get it right. They kick the ball over and over. They lift weights and maintain special diets. They work, work and work some more until they get it right.

The reality is that professional level of skill can be given by God but for most people it is formed as the result of long-term training.

Honestly, I think this reality is true in every area of life – not just football (or sports in general).

If you want to know your Bible more, you can learn through repeated training.

If you want to be a kind person, you can learn that through repeated activity.

If you want to be a generous person, you can learn that too.

If you want to be a better spouse, better parent or better child, those things too can be learned through repeated effort.

The good news is that you can be trained to do almost anything.

I firmly believe that in life some people have unbelievable natural ability. God has blessed them with gifts and talents other people may not have.

But I also believe God has given each of us the opportunity to learn. We can be almost anything we want to be in life – if we will commit ourselves to the hard work of repeated actions to develop an ability. The real question is not “can I do that?” Rather it is “am I willing to work hard enough to do that?”

So – What do you want to do today?

Ephesians 4:29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. (NIV)

Many years ago I heard leadership guru John Maxwell say that one of his goals in life was “to add value to other people.” I always liked that phrase. It captures the simple concept of building other people up that Paul tells the Christian in Ephesus but it also includes so much more. Are people better for having been around me?

I think this is possibly even more important today than ever before. We live in a world filled with words. Articles, blogs, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have given everyone a voice. The comment section that follows these posts are then filled with even more words.

My question for today and this week is simply, “Are my words adding value to people’s lives to build them up?”

Am I using my words to encourage other people?

Am I using my words to teach other people?

Am I using my words to thank other people?

Am I using my words to pray for other people?

Am I using my words to support other people?

How am I using the voice God has given me to further the work of his kingdom around me?

Tearing something down is easy. Building something up is hard. This week I am committed to the hard work. Will you join me?

Here are some interesting and thoughtful articles for you to enjoy this weekend:

What Did Jesus Look Like?

Eight Unexpected Blessings of Christianity

5 Pastoral Pet Peeves

What I Learned About God From Psych Ward Patients

15 Reasons Why Committed Christians Do Not Attend Church

Twenty More Funny and Strange Things Church Members Say to Pastors and Staff

18 Things That Are Hard to Explain to Third-World Friends

There Were 15 Times When The Wrong Answer Was So Funny It Had To Be Right These are great. You have to read #11 closely. Priceless