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...
A Challenge That Matters
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...
The True Meaning of Christmas
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 and Jesus
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...
Stealing Christmas
One of my favorite holiday pastimes is watching Christmas movies. Over the years, I have collected quite the library. Some of them are more modern releases, such as Arthur Christmas, Polar Express, and Elf. Others are Christmas classics, such as A Christmas Story, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and A Charlie Brown Christmas. In a strange twist of irony, the newest addition to my collection is...
Home for the Holidays?!
As the song so eloquently states, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” (Be honest with me… you just sang that line in your head, didn’t you? I know you did…) I am a HUGE fan of the holiday season. I have had Christmas music playing in my truck since November 2, which is the first day that Sirius XM Radio fired up their Christmas channels. In my office, at this very moment, I have a 4-foot...
FOR/IN
My heart’s desire is that churches would strive to be FOR the community, not just IN the community. Of my own church, I regularly say, “We need to be First Baptist Church FOR Seymour, not just First Baptist Church IN Seymour.” Many times, churches become prominent historic fixtures in the community. For those outside the church, they serve as landmarks for directions and house memories of days...
Make the Play
I never actually played football as I was growing up. Sure, I threw the ball with my friends in the neighborhood and played the occasional schoolyard game, but I never played organized ball with a team. It was one sport that was never available to me. None of the schools I attended offered it as an option. The only “football” available to students at Elkhart Baptist Christian School, Grace...
The Pain and The Prize
Sometime over the summer, my eleven-year-old son, JJ, decided he wanted to run cross country for his school. Actually, that’s not 100% true. He decided he wanted to run track for his school and, as per school rules, runners have to run cross country to run track. So, during the summer, JJ went to running club whenever he was able and then to practices as we entered into the school year. To be...
Face-to-Face Time
We live in exciting times. Human history is in the midst of a fundamental shift in the way we function. The advent of the smart phone is forcing us to evaluate and redefine how life is lived in our current age and for years to come. Not since the invention of the printing press has humanity experienced such massive changes. Every aspect of life has been touched by this new digital revolution, but...
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