During my time as a pastor, there have been many instances where I was responsible for raising funds to help off-set the cost of mission trips or other church related activities. One of the more common methods of raising support was to essentially hire the youth and young adults of the church out to members of the community to do odd jobs. Some jobs were odder than others, but the oddest...
Driving during the winter months can be quite the exciting adventure in the northern half of the United States. The impact of rain, snow, ice, and heavy metal blades attached to heavy trucks scraping over the surface result in roads speckled with potholes of all shapes and sizes. It is true that potholes aren’t a joy reserved exclusively for winter, but winter is the time when what were little...
There is something about excellence that evokes strong feelings of discomfort and/or disdain in people. We love to hate winners. Nothing will cause people to question your methods and motives like sustained success. This all started to come into focus for me last night as I was enduring yet another Super Bowl featuring the much-maligned New England Patriots. As we prepared for the big game over...
Our society thrives on competition. There seems to be no end to the means through which our competitive streak runs. It can be observed in academics as students and parents alike tout the many accomplishments through the wonder of social media. It can also be seen in athletics on the local, national, and international level; not simply through the actions and attitudes of participants, but also...
Winter arrived in southern Indiana in dramatic fashion this past weekend! Like most other folk, I found myself questioning the veracity of the forecasts coming from the host of meteorologists. In a scene closely mirroring the story of The Boy Who Cried Wolf, the “experts” have been prone to sensationalize the forecast in recent years. This has incited multiple runs on local grocery stores for...
If you spend any time on Facebook, you may have noticed a recent trend that’s taking the web by storm. It seems like every week there is a new challenge, baiting people into doing crazy dances, lip syncing to pop songs, dumping buckets of ice-water on their heads, or other random acts of tomfoolery. While the tone of that last sentence might cause one to believe I am against such displays of...
There’s something about the transition from one calendar year to another that creates a sense of hopeful anticipation. I’ve always been somewhat puzzled at why we make such a big deal about something that really is very arbitrary and inconsequential. Truth be told, no fundamental reality shifted in the moments between December 31, 2018 and January 1, 2019. All that really happened is we created a...
It’s been quite some time since I’ve played a game on my cellphone with any regularity. During our time up north, however, I saw a word game advertised on Facebook and decided to give it a try. The game is called Wordscapes. The game is a crossword puzzle of sorts. The game provides you with a certain number of letters and boxes in which to place them in order to form a predetermined number of...
One of my must-see movies of the Christmas season is A Charlie Brown Christmas. It’s short, sweet, and to the point. I’m not one who talks all that much about things being better “way back when,” but there is something special about a movie for children that so clearly delivers the truth of Scripture. The entirety of the movie builds up to the moment when Charlie Brown asks the question of the...
Santa Claus has been quite the controversial character for most of my life. He was never really a central part of my Christmas experience growing up or now with my children, but having attended some very conservative Christian schools, there were some very strong anti-Santa sentiments. One of my college professors often referred to him as “Satan Claus,” and took every opportunity to explain why...
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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