If you are one of those people who leaves your spirituality on the back burner, and who believes there are dozens of more interesting or rewarding things to do on a Sunday that make church an increasingly unlikely choice, then I have to say, simply, “Come and see.”
Unwillingness to compromise isn’t just impractical, it’s un-American:
My job as Grandaddy Derek is to love David and Beks with the cumulative love of all these decades, to nurture them spiritually in ways I’m only now beginning to grow into, and to share with them the stories I couldn’t possibly have known thirty years ago because I had yet to live them.
It’s our 4th April in North Carolina, and this past week we’ve seen an explosion of color – I’ve been completely blown away by the power and the intensity of the seasonal transformation.
The leading priests and the teachers of religious law saw these wonderful miracles and heard even the children in the Temple shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David.” But the leaders were indignant. They asked Jesus, “Do you hear what these children are saying?” “Yes,” Jesus replied. “Haven’t you ever read the Scriptures? For they …
As Jesus continued down the road, a man ran up, knelt before him, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to obtain eternal life?” Jesus replied, “Why do you call me good?” – Mark 10:17-18 “fait accompli” – a thing that has already happened, or been decided, before those affected hear about it, leaving them …
This is what, in the grownup world, we call a paradox. A paradox is when something looks like it should do one thing, but it turns out to do something quite the opposite.
The challenge is to provide constant opportunity for them to remain engaged and learning, while having fun at the same time.
I’ve been struck this week by how complex and varied North Carolina is this time of the year. Sunday afternoon the temps reached 81-degrees, Monday night featured a good freeze, Wednesday was the more typical wintery 45 and rainy, then – today at 10:00 in the morning – it’s a picture perfect 41-degrees with brilliant …
“To everything (turn, turn, turn) There is a season (turn, turn, turn) And a time to every purpose, under heaven.” (The Byrds/Pete Seeger/Ecclesiastes 3…) Thursday evening I drove Rebekah over to our church campus for a couple of meetings. As we walked from the parking lot to the Christian Life Center I looked up to see …
