I was listening to a person describe what they had walked through in life. It ranged from a painful childhood, difficult teenage years, and numerous mistakes as a young adult. The pain bled through their voice from the years of struggles.

Then they said a line I wrote down: “This could have been a tragic tale.”

This person had overcome all their difficulties. They had not allowed themselves to be pulled into the vortex of pain, where they tried to escape through drugs and alcohol. Their story was not a tragic one; it was one of an overcomer.

The Church is filled with people who have pasts with trauma and shame, and through the power of God, their story does not have a tragic ending. Instead, they are a witness to the power of God when he steps into a life with forgiveness, power, and purpose.

I firmly believe that God can take any story and make it an “untragic” tale – even yours!

Our office administrator sends me the numbers from the previous week at worship on Tuesday afternoon. She adds up everything on the attendance count sheet and then compiles our giving numbers from the various places we use to collect money. Once everything is added together, she gives me two definitive numbers from the weekend.

Last week, she asked me what I did with those numbers. I explained it to her, and thought it might be helpful for you to know as well.

I keep a spreadsheet with the date, attendance, offering numbers, and a space for notes. Some weeks have few notes to add, but others include statements like, “Baptism with lots of family here, Temp was 8 degrees to start the day,” and “I was out of town on vacation.”

At the end of each year, I review those notes and look for trends. I compare them with previous years and look for patterns that might help in my ministry. Every Church has unique seasonal swings and disruptions. For example, while preaching in Alaska, our summers were packed with people from May to August, and Christmas was empty as people flew to see family in warmer climates. Where I serve now, we have sports in June, but I know the first week of July will be a ghost town. Then, because we have numerous teachers, we expect our numbers to return by the second week of August.

I use these numbers for programming, for the number of chairs I need in the auditorium, for evaluating sermon series topics, for starting small groups and holiday plans, and for my vacations. Every number tells a little story about the people I lead, their habits, and when they spend time away from worship. I then use those stories to lead in the most effective way I am able.

When I arrived at the Church I now lead, there were 100 black chairs in the classrooms. They had all been purchased from Sam’s Club and were highly functional. A few years later, we needed 100 more. We found similar-looking chairs online for a lower price and assumed no one would notice the difference.

I noticed immediately.

Though the chairs looked nearly identical, they were slightly different in height and width. When stacked together, the mismatch pinched the material on the seats, often tearing holes in them. What seemed like a slight difference created real damage.

So I separated the chairs and stored them in different parts of the building. But whenever someone needed extra seating, they would grab from the rooms and use both types. Afterward, they instinctively stacked them all together. The result was more damage.

Recently, while reorganizing the stacks, I discovered a third chair. Just one. No one knew where it came from or how it got there. It looked similar enough to blend in, but it didn’t belong with either group. When stacked, it damaged the others, so I set it aside. It remains in the building, present, but out of place.

At first glance, all three chairs look the same. But their differences matter.

That realization made me think about the Christian life. To the untrained eye, everyone who claims the name of Jesus appears alike. But closer inspection reveals differences in belief, character, humility, and obedience. Those differences don’t just affect us individually; they affect the people around us as well.

Following Jesus isn’t just about looking the part. The Church isn’t meant to be a pile of mismatched chairs damaging one another whenever they are put together. It’s about being formed into the likeness of Jesus. When each person’s life is shaped by Christ, we fit together in a way that builds up rather than tears down.

I was discussing the use of AI in ministry with another pastor. He stated several things he was trying to use it for, and I expressed how it is helping me in my writing. He immediately joked, “Oh, now I know how you are cranking out so many blog posts.”

We laughed, but the thought remained with me. Honestly, it got me wondering about so many posts I read online. How many are written by people, and how many are generated by AI? It is hard to tell, and I am sure the answer is disappointing.

I am using AI in a few ways to help me write. First, I use it for basic grammar and editing. AI has become my proofreader. Microsoft Word will actually read my writing out loud to me, and that genuinely makes editing much easier.

Second, I use AI to help me rewrite clunky sentences. I write something, read it, edit it, and then reread it. And still, it doesn’t sound correct. Plugging that sentence into a couple of AI platforms often helps me produce a better-sounding statement.

Finally, I occasionally use AI to help me find a post’s ending. When I have written everything in my head, and I am not sure how to tie it off or bring the article to an end. I put the whole post in and asked it to finish it for me. It usually gives me a long, unusable sentence, but the concept of how to end it is helpful and helps me write those final words.

I am not using AI to write my content because I want my voice to be heard. God has allowed me to live through numerous experiences, learn from great teachers, and be inspired by ideas. Those become the basis of my writing.

One goal in an AI world is to find and use your authentic voice. God is not interested in a lot of generic information generated by a computer. He is looking for his people to use their lives, gifts, and talents to further his work. There is no replacement for your contribution and the unique voice you bring to the world.

One day last week, I went to the office exhausted. It has been a long couple of weeks for me as I am working on several projects for the new year. The long hours of reading and thinking had left me feeling brain-dead.

When I have days like this, do you want to know what I do?

I do the exact same thing I do every day. I start with prayer, then Bible reading, computer work, and then I start working on my sermon for Sunday. Even when I don’t feel like it, I follow the same habits and rituals that make up my life.

I never wait until I feel like connecting with God through Bible reading and prayer. I never pause my routine until the mood strikes me. I don’t wait to write creatively until I feel inspired. If that were the case, I might only work a few hours a day or possibly a week. Nope, I get up and follow the same routine every day.

In those repeated habits, I find the connection, information, and creativity that I need. Doing the same things every day leads to the inspiration I need.

Remember to build a life on actions, not merely feelings. In doing that, you will find greater faith and production, even on days when you would rather be in bed.

Practically. Having a Church where people are growing in the Lord, connecting with one another, and serving the world requires good old-fashioned manual labor.

Tables and chairs will need to be repeatedly stacked and moved. Floors will need to be mopped and vacuumed over and over. Food will need to be prepared, served, and cleaned up after. Trash will have to be emptied repeatedly. Toilets cleaned, items wiped down, and repairs made. And that is just inside.

Outside, the parking lot will need to be maintained. Grass will need mowing, areas will need weed-whacking, and limbs and leaves will need to be removed. Building maintenance is a must. There always seems to be trash accumulating that needs to be cleaned up.

Physical work seems so distant from doing the work of the Lord, but it is this physical work that enables the work of God to take place through the Church.

People love to be a part of a vibrant faith community, but know that if you have not gotten your hands dirty lately or done any manual labor to make it happen, someone has. It is through people using their strength and energy for the Lord that the Church moves forward. And everything you experience is the direct result of someone laboring for the good of the community.

Today, I want to say thank you to everyone who physically does anything at Church. Thanks for your hard work in the name of Jesus.

Agreement. Harmony.

Congruence is not perfection. It is integrity. It is the honest pursuit of allowing our inner life with Christ to shape our outward actions in the world. When your beliefs, thoughts, and behaviors are aligned, then you have achieved congruence.

This is the place where we experience peace, joy, and genuine rest. It is where we can accept love, hear constructive advice, and live without fear.

One quest for a follower of Jesus is to find congruence in their life. Whenever we are out of alignment in one area, we are required to change to bring everything back into order. Sometimes that means correcting our beliefs, but usually it means changing our thought life or a particular behavior.

If you are tired, stressed, and anxious, it is usually because you have lost the harmony and agreement in your life. Incongruence creates tension in the soul. We feel it when our words outpace our obedience, when our public faith does not match our private practices, or when our convictions stay theoretical rather than lived. Over time, that tension leads to weariness, cynicism, and even hypocrisy.

The gospel offers a better way. Jesus doesn’t invite us to work harder, but to come back into alignment with Him. Congruence isn’t about having it all together; it’s about honestly bringing our whole lives under His lordship.

In that place of alignment, we discover the peace the world cannot give.

Mark Twain has been quoted as saying, “I can live for two months on a good compliment.”

Giving someone a polite expression of praise and admiration is an overlooked tool in our work for Jesus. A good compliment is genuine, specific, and focuses on character or effort. It makes the recipient feel truly seen and valued, not just praised superficially. It avoids vagueness or backhandedness to create a meaningful connection.

You can change someone’s day, maybe even their month or year, by complimenting them. It is best to do it face-to-face, but a card, email, or text can be effective.

Words have the power to change worlds, and a good compliment is unequaled in its magnitude. Take the time today to express what you appreciate about someone you know. I guarantee that they will be thankful you did.

There is a difference between thinking and being able to repeat what someone else told you.

Thinking requires you to engage information and mentally process ideas. It requires us to search for material that supports or disproves our conclusions. Thinking means having conversations that stimulate the mind with differing views and coordinating concepts. Thinking is complex and can take us years to get our thoughts right.

Repetition masquerades as thinking. Someone might hear a piece of information and then repeat it as an answer to an issue. This does not require anything from us, merely the ability to remember a few facts or a quote that we agree with in principle. Repetition can make for good grades or a stellar trivia participant, but requires little of us and can be achieved with a quick internet search.

The issues that this raises are multifaceted. Does the person I am talking to really think this way, or are they parroting information? How do I get people to think deeply about something I care about, like the Christian faith, without settling for trivial beliefs?

The challenge for people today is to develop their thinking. Thinking leads to convictions. And convictions will change behavior.

One reason people continue to act in ungodly ways is that they have never honestly thought about it.

There is a rug in my house that I know will get stuck in the vacuum cleaner every time I go over it. It is an indisputable fact that if I attempt to clean it with the rest of the carpet, it will not end well.

Do you want to know how many times I have sucked that thin little floor covering up?

Every. Single. Time.

My brain knows it will happen. In my heart, I know this will not end well. But I try to get as close to it as I can without it happening. I get right up next to the edge and move slowly down the side. Then, inevitably, I catch it in the brushes, and it gets pulled into the vacuum.

Sin is enticing. Even when we know the consequences can be devastating, we often try to come as close as possible, hoping nothing bad will happen this time.

Perhaps for a time or two, we are fine. Then we get confident in our behavior, and suddenly there is the smell of burning rubber from the belt, the squeal of the motor, and everything comes to a halt.

The question should never be, “How close can we get to sin and get away with it?” It should be “How can we stay far enough away that we will never have an issue?”