Category: Uncategorized
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Lessons from My Lawn
We have a relatively small yard with nearly as much garden space as the lawn. My wife Carol is the steward of the gardens and I take care of the grass. The gardens are watered regularly, and the grass gets enough H2O to avoid going completely brown during this drought.I have a tough time thinking
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True Confessions
I was in a conversation recently where the topic was about something I had written. I included everything in the communication that I felt a person would want to know. When I was finished, I was certain they would have no questions whatsoever and would be clamoring to participate in the event. One of the
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Trusting
Last week I reflected upon the effect that the Covid pandemic has had on the church. The challenges experienced changed how we are the church and how we will do church in the future. As a lay person, I can see that my role in the church is changing. Whether or not the church I
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Of Churches and Restaurants
At the height of the pandemic churches applied for PPP Loans and relied on Zoom, Facebook and YouTube to deliver the Sunday Service. Many technology-challenged individuals were pushed into the proverbial social media pool. And, like the initial cold-water shock of jumping in, people finally warmed up to the new way of doing church. But,
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Of Fresh Cut Grass
As I get older I find many perfumes and colognes give me a headache. It is one of the reasons why I prefer to drive into Boston rather than ride the subway standing next to a millennial young man who thinks the better he smells, the better he looks – Not. For me, the smell
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Tainted Money
I re-read an article written by Robert Wood Lynn titled: “The Ethics of Asking.” Mr. Lynn broaches the topic of receiving tainted money. The term tainted money originated back in 1905, when John D. Rockefeller, an oil billionaire, gave $100,000 to the Congregational Foreign Missions. This gift raised a red flag for Rev. Washington Gladden,
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Received, not Taken
I heard a conversation this past week where a middle-aged man shared how he visited his friend whose 23-year daughter had died. He told his friend that Jesus had “taken” his daughter. The father, responding in kind wisdom, replied “Jesus did not ‘take’ her, He ‘received’ her.” It is curious that in the Gospel’s we
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“Jesus Carry Me Upon Your Back”
Recently I heard a song sung by Ugandan Christians, “Jesus Carry Me Upon Your Back.” The genesis of this hymn is seen everyday as mothers carry their babies on their backs. To be as dependent as a baby, snuggled close to your mother as you can get, is the image of being carried by Jesus
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Of Pentecost & Annual Conference: A Different Perspective
Back in 2015, Taylor Watson Burton-Edwards shared his thoughts about the East Congo Annual Conference at Kivu on his Facebook page. He said that their primary agenda item was: “To evaluate what God has done among them during the past year.” Taylor then noted that they were not reporting on what the Annual Conference ministries
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Endowments: A Blessing or a Curse
Inheritance comes in many forms; legacies, heirlooms, traditions, and personality traits to name a few. In our culture which equates self-worth with net worth, the inheritance which can be monetized is most desired. The wealthy among us lean on their financial advisors when making decisions about how much inheritance will help, and the “too much”