“To err is human; to forgive, divine.” We have all, undoubtedly, heard, and likely used, this famous phrase at some point in our lives. It is, in my personal estimation, an indisputable truth. Failure is a definitive feature of the human experience. As hard as we may try, and as much as we might want to deny the truth, all of us make mistakes. We knowingly and unknowingly break rules and fail to...
The Problem with Keeping Receipts
Towards the end of every month I receive a “special” document in my church mailbox requiring my attention. It is a credit card statement for my church expense card. Various items on the document will have been highlighted by the church business manager, thus indicating that action is required on my part. Each highlighted item represents a receipt that I have, to that point, failed to submit to...
The Trouble with Easter (Something Worth Celebrating)
I have a confession to make… I DO NOT LOVE EASTER. It’s OK if you’re judging me a little upon reading this revelation. I judge myself. We can just add it to the ever-growing list of things that make me an unfit pastor. I just don’t enjoy this holiday. I hate the soft, pastel colors that dominate this season. I find the human-sized rabbits that attend our parties and that supposedly deliver candy...
Behold, the Lamb of God
Throughout the Christmas season, countless pastors will refer to Jesus’s journey from the cradle to the cross. I love it, myself. It has a great cadence, is easy to remember, and is alliterated (which is a pastoral win!). But, what I really love is that it makes the essential connection between the wonder of Christ’s birth and the somber purpose for which He was born. The baby in the manger, the...
Making Room for Reconciliation
Two things seem to dominate social interaction and discourse in our world today. People seem to be perpetually offended or angry, and, in many cases, both. It doesn’t take much in our current cultural climate to light a fire in someone, and it’s amazing how quickly that spark is fanned into a raging inferno that spreads to others. So pervasive is the risk of offering offense that even as I type...
The Difficulties in Forgiveness: An Easter Addendum
There are few acts of grace that are more difficult to give, to request, or to receive than forgiveness. When we are the ones who are wronged, it is difficult to see beyond the hurt and the bitterness that so quickly seep into our hearts and minds. Most of us want to move past the issue, but it is so hard to restore trust once it’s been betrayed. When we are the ones who have wronged others, it...
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