Last week I reflected on how text messaging can become a hindrance to authentic personal connection. As I continue to ponder the matter, I am reminded of one church leader’s constructive criticism concerning a habit that I had when I entered the SMS world. My default perspective was that a text message was mainly just …
Short Message Service (SMS) has become a dominant mode of communication in today’s world. One article describing SMS begins with the comment: “Just when we’re finally used to seeing everybody constantly talking on their cell phones, it suddenly seems like no one is talking at all. Instead, they’re typing away on tiny numerical pads, using …
When we truly understand the gospel of Jesus the Christ, the worship and praise of the One who died on the cross for our sakes and yet now lives forever as Lord of lords will be the dominant commitment and engagement of our lives. C.S. Lewis offers insightful thoughts on the nature of praise. Allow …
As I write, the ticket-buying frenzy for the mega-million lottery—the jackpot currently pegged at $640M—is in full swing. One report informs us: “Between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. [Friday], Mega Millions vendors across the city [New York] sold a massive $1.6 million worth of tickets to people hoping to claim the life-changing jackpot.” With this …
The nature of commitment to Christ can be quite different for confessing Christians in different parts of the world. Here in the West, commitment often means nothing more than having to deal with inconvenient or humiliating circumstances. It may be the inconvenience of having to get up early on a weekend to attend a worship …
“Election madness” is well on its way. The media has been quite busy covering all the activity of the political hopefuls. In the ongoing primaries so many claims have been made concerning oneself or one’s opponents. Of course, it’s not just the politicians but also their supporters who engage in this process. And it all …
I am not one who has been faithful in “journaling” my walk with Christ. But I did have the “occasional inspiration” to write down my thoughts and reflections on concepts or life experiences. Recently, Grace and I started going through the “Apprentice Series” together. Among other things, the resource encourages journaling. So I decided to …
The apparent lack of male involvement and (spiritual) leadership in churches today has been a concern of church leaders. Many have pursued special male-oriented programs to attract more men into the church. There is value in this. However, some attempts at providing experiences considered more relevant to the male gender tend to kowtow to the …
As I write, the latest report from Iran is that the final order to execute Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani has been handed down. Pastor Yousef has been in prison since October 2009. And the crime for which he will be executed is that he had converted to Christianity, and now refuses to renounce his Christian faith. …
“Odessa Brown got away with murder for 16 years.” So goes the title of an article in the Kansas City Star. In 1994, Brown was the caregiver of an 83-year-old woman in Muskogee, Oklahoma. But Brown was a crack cocaine addict. And that destructive habit caused her to steal a diamond ring from her client. …
