Would you consider yourself to be more of an optimist or a pessimist? An optimist is one who tends to see things with a positive outlook, while a pessimist tends to see things with a negative outlook. Let’s use an old exercise to help make the determination. If we were to place a glass containing approximately 50% of the liquid it is able to hold on a table before you, would you say the glass is...
Graphic socks are a prominent feature of the Myers family style. Myself, my wife, my daughter, and my son all love to rock exciting socks. We are probably one of the very few families in which getting socks for Christmas or a birthday is a highlight rather than a disappointment. Between the four of us, we have quite the eclectic collection. There is one design that I find especially amusing...
A simple claw hammer, a two foot metal stake, and a yellow jacket nest… On first glance, this could be the start of a really bad joke. And, just like a really bad joke, there’s nothing funny about where this story goes. In late summer of 2018, the third largest Californian wildfire was set ablaze as a result of these simple items. One article about the fire explains, “California’s largest...
In composing these weekly reflections, I make great efforts to not go back to the same wells too often. But, it wouldn’t be difficult to fill an entire book with lessons I learn observing our family’s Golden Doodle, Evie. As I consider the ways she interacts with my family, responds to various strangers and visitors, and approaches the world around her, I see small glimpses of what I think God...
Hopscotch, Tag, and Hide and Seek… These three classics compose what we might consider the trinity of playground games. They are truly timeless in their appeal and entertainment value. In the past year, I have spent an increased amount of time with our youth group and have been reminded of how much fun Hide and Seek, in particular, can be. While the games our students play are often called things...
There has been a lot of noise coming out of Asbury University over the last two weeks. University President, Dr. Kevin J. Brown, explains the humble beginnings. He writes, “At the completion of a regularly scheduled chapel service on February 8, 2023, at Asbury University, students lingered to pray, worship, and share. They have not stopped and, moreover, have been joined far and wide by hungry...
There’s a meme that resurfaces every year right around Super Bowl season. It says, “You should be as excited about church as you are about the Super Bowl. So when your pastor makes a good point this Sunday, pour Gatorade over his head.” Without fail, this meme peppers my social media feeds as people tag myself and my pastoral brothers and sisters to share the joke. I have a deep and abiding...
During a recent meeting of our youth ministry, The Attic, we conducted a little experiment that I found both interesting and illuminating. The experiment was inspired by two seemingly simple questions provided in a Grow Students teaching guide. “What is something so easy to do that it doesn’t require instructions?” “If you were to provide step by step instructions for that activity, what would...
“Man plans and God laughs.” This phrase is a restatement of an old Yiddish proverb. The original wording of the phrase is, “We plan; God laughs.” If we keep going down the rabbit hole, we learn that this particular phrase takes its inspiration from the book of Psalms. At least three times in the Psalms, the author notes that God does, in fact, laugh at the planning and plotting of humanity. If...
I was in second grade during the first presidential election I can remember. The year was 1988 and I was eight years old. We held a mock election in our classroom. We were given several days to talk to our parents and other adults we respected and to watch the news or read the paper to discern for whom we wanted to vote. The candidates for that particular election were then Vice President George...
Jeremy Myers is the Lead Pastor of First Baptist Church of Seymour, Indiana, where he has served since 2017. He has over 25 years of experience in local church ministry and not-for-profit leadership. He has a passion for helping emerging and existing generations learn to make space for each other and caring for the under-served and marginalized. In 2016, he earned his Doctor of Ministry degree from Palmer Theological Seminary, with his thesis focusing on developing connections between senior adults and youth in the church. He is a passionate and gifted communicator and is regularly invited to speak at retreats, camps, conferences, and other events. He lives in Seymour, Indiana with his wife Robyn, their two children, Mikayla and JJ, and their Golden Doodle, Evie.
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