Posted on Thursday, June 25, 2015

Should You Make Your Child Go To Church

If you aren’t a Christian, first let me thank you for checking out my blog, secondly know that I’m directing this post toward those who say that they are.

Being a pastor I never get asked, “Should I make my child go to church?”

Instead, I’m usually told by parents why they aren’t making their child go to church anymore. The subject comes up when I ask them casually about how their child is doing, and then they misinterpret the question to mean: “Why isn’t your child in church?” The answers usually boil down to two:

Posted on Wednesday, June 17, 2015

The Struggle is Real

Ever noticed that when you finally get serious about making some changes it seems like everything conspires to keep you from making that change?

You finally decide to lose a few pounds so you join a gym, buy the workout clothes, and get your bag packed. The next day your boss needs you to stay late for an unexpected project or your child gets sick and needs you to get them from school early or your spouse has to stay late at work so you have to pick up the children. Goodbye gym. Goodbye new routine. Not to mention that every person you know seems to be having a party or a cookout with all of your favorite foods–testing your will power. Why is it so hard to get in shape?

Posted on Thursday, May 7, 2015

The Front Lines of Humanity

Who stands on the frontlines of humanity shaping culture? Who is the first line of defense against evil? Who fights on a daily basis to keep the forces of hell at bay that want to destroy our families? It’s mom.

Lots of people talk about the importance of the government shaping our world or the role teachers have in shaping the next generation of society. Some even extol the virtues of the arts and media in shaping culture. It’s true that teachers, the government, and media all play a role in culture, but behind every senator, activist, professor, artist, or movie producer was a mother….a mother who nurtured her child on a loving pathway or a mother who neglected her duties to train a child and guide his path.

Posted on Monday, January 19, 2015

Withholding Likes – New Rules of Facebook #5

Facebook by its design is more of a highlight reel than a documentary. Most people only post the best and it’s easy to think that someone else’s life is perfect.

Worse, it’s even easier to feel like a loser and like you’ll never catch up. Facebook makes it seem like everyone else is living a Disney story except you. The reality is everyone has a cross to bear. If you aren’t careful these feelings can quickly turn to envy. Here is a great test to see if you suffer with envy on Facebook: Have you ever withheld a “like” from a post?

Posted on Monday, January 12, 2015

Suffer With Dignity – New Rules of Facebook #3

One thing I’ve noticed on FB is how often people complain. (And I would like to take a minute and complain about that.) People who complain on FB complain in life too. Your FB status can be a reflection of the status of your heart.

It’s easy to slip into a mode of complaining. It’s not hard to just concentrate on the negative like: How you do all the work and get none of the credit, how it is so stinking cold, gas prices, or poor customer service. I’ve even been wanting to complain about something on FB that has been driving me crazy…pot holes…I’ve even thought of a clever status update like: Colorado has gone to pot and New York has gone to pot holes. (You know that’s good!)

Posted on Thursday, January 8, 2015

Stop Taking a Stand on Facebook – New Rules of Facebook #2

Somewhere along the way a belief has emerged that social media is an effective means of persuasion, especially with hot button issues. At the very least if the platform doesn’t change a mind the user has “taken a stand” in the public square.

More often than not we need to keep the point to ourself to truly make a difference. I recognize that it is so much easier to make a point, shoot–it can even be more fun to use one liners and to share memes. But telling someone they’re wrong is not the same as leading them or inspiring them to do what’s right. (To quote Andy Stanley)

Posted on Monday, December 8, 2014

Never Delete THIS Email

Do you ever struggle with feeling discouraged? Do you ever wonder if you are making a difference and if your efforts even matter? Does it seem like the negatives outweigh the positives? I know I struggle with all of those things more frequently than I’d like to admit.

I’ve found one thing particularly helpful when I find myself wallowing in discouragement and despair. All it takes is a quick glance and I find my outlook and perspective begins to change almost instantaneously.

Posted on Monday, December 1, 2014

See It & Say It

What is the most powerful part of you? Maybe you would say it’s your brains, or maybe your infectious and influencing personality, or maybe like me you’d say it’s your muscular physique (just kidding!).

Every one of us has the exact same powerful tool. We have different IQs, different personalities, different body shapes, different backgrounds, different life experiences…so how can with all of these differences we all be in possession of the same powerful thing?

Posted on Monday, November 24, 2014

Using Divinely-Given Power

We see God creating the world with just His words in Genesis 1. The crazy thing to me is that God didn’t reserve that power just for Himself…He gave us the power of words to create things as well.

Through words we can cast vision, we can inspire, and we can encourage…which leads to the creation of movements, nations, companies, and art. Think about it this way…anything significant that has even been accomplished was accomplished because someone moved others to action through their words.