Rick Nier...Woo!

It’s almost an afterthought. It is like the editor told the writer, “I need 50 or so more words.” A most amazing story is sandwiched between a couple of otherwise mundane events in the history of Israel. That’s not completely fair either. The story I’m referring to is found in 2 Kings 13:20-21. It involves the prophet Elisha, who was anything but mundane. If you know anything at all about this Old Testament prophet, you know his stories are crazy and wild. In fact, beyond crazy and wild. In fact, it’s difficult to find a stand-out story of Elisha, the guy who saw iron ax-heads float, raised dead people to life, miraculously multiplied a widow’s oil and my personal favorite; calling down bears on unruly teenagers. Teens, you’re on notice! But the best example of how life is all about God and not about us can be told in Elisha’s death. Elisha died and was buried. Now Moabite raiders used to enter the country every spring. Once while some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly

There's a big difference in being a fan versus being a follower. Being a fan is akin to being a customer. We like a certain product, sports team, or musician. We like them because of what they offer us; great hair, bragging rights or entertainment value. We can stop being a fan when they no longer offer these things. The focus is on us. But being a follower is very different. We follow leaders. We place our trust and hope in those we follow. We submit our plans for their plans, our ideals for their ideals, our future for their future. When the going gets rough, a committed follower stays the course. It's the course of the leader. The focus is not on us. This alone would be reason enough to make me like Kyle Idleman's book Not a Fan . But it's not the only reason. Kyle has written a challenging book here, not unlike the book where he gets his ideas. That would be the Bible. Quoting Jesus throughout, Kyle helps us dig deeper and think more broadly as to the cost of true

My family passed a field of crosses, each one representing four lives that have been taken in our county since 1972. My kids asked. Inside, my heart sunk. Innocence was about to be broken once more.  You know about that, right? When you have to first tell your kids that mean people exist. When you have to confess that even you aren't perfect. When you tell them that death happens. That crime happens. Why flags are sometimes flown at half-staff.  A little more of their innocence is chipped away from the beautiful sculptures that they once represented. You wonder where jaded people come from? They are made by parents having to tell children about sin.  In this case, the sin was abortion. As we explained to our kids that sometimes fear, sometimes confusion and sometimes a lack of love, cause people to kill babies. Tears filled my eyes, even as I drove, as my 3 children spilled with questions and contempt for anyone who could think that killing a baby was okay. Why wou

I'm not saying that I am the Billy Graham of preschool chapel speakers, but at that moment, I was getting it done.  Every other kid in the room (of about 70) was laughing and giggling and keeping focused on me. But there was this 2-year old insomniac who couldn't keep her eyes opened. She was the toddler version of that old man in every church service. You know the one. His toupee is off kilter and he doesn't seem to mind his gob being wide open. The drool travelling down his chin is distracting at least 6 other people.  But the devotional I gave to those preschoolers was good. I shared the love of God with a roomful of little ones, and most of them stayed awake to hear it. So why is it I can only think about that one sleeper?  We do that. We focus on the negative, even when it is in clear minority to the positive. Well, I'm going to get positive on this one. If ever they decide to do a crusade for preschoolers and they start looking for a speaker, I'm

I have a couple of theories... Either there is one really big cricket sitting outside our bedroom window. But he's like the really big 12 year old boy, the kind that has facial hair already, but hasn't yet hit puberty. So his voice is really high. It could possibly be a pre-pubescent cricket that's just big for his age. Or... It's a whole Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir of crickets, all waiting for the conductor to drop his baton so they can chirp at the same time. This choir of crickets is so well trained that they sound as one. Either way, it's loud and it disrupts my sleep. Of course, I'm sure if I were to go outside and somehow manage to locate the source, I would find just a few crickets. But isn't it interesting how small things can add up to big things in our lives. A small sliver under a fingernail, a small scratch on a DVD, a small nail in your tire. They are all small, but good luck concentrating on anything else until you get the situation r

But he gives us more grace. ~ James 4:6 I have to be gut-level honest here. I know that many pastors and people and churches can be all over the place when it comes to our focus. But I have always been a grace kind of guy. I will always be a grace kind of guy. I have, at times, felt guilty about this, as if grace is somehow inferior to law, inferior to deeper thinking, somehow a 1st-grade mentality to our Christian discipleship. But I don’t agree. I believe even the Law that God gave Moses had grace in it. How else do you explain that a man can commit a sin, which is so heinous to God that death is required, but God steps back and says, ‘You know what…kill this goat and a couple of birds and we’ll call it even.’ How is that even close to even? Fair? No, it’s grace. However you interpret salvation and end-times and works and faith, the whole system is based on grace, an undeserved gift from God.

Once again showing why ministry is not (or shouldn't be) about me. I found the following over at Ministry Matters by Ron Edmondson. I’ve always strived to be a delegator. I know I’ve written posts on it before…how to do it successfully…that kind of garbage. But, that’s before I knew the skinny on delegation. So, that’s it. I’m done. No more delegation for me. I’m dumping delegation for good. Here’s what I discovered… 7 problems with delegation: To finish this article,  click here.

Those connected with me on Facebook might have seen me post this last weekend. I went into Dairy Queen to pick up an ice cream cake for my wife and daughter's birthday. After grabbing a large round cake I took it up to the register. The DQ worker looked at me and asked, "Is this for here or to go?" I said, "Ma'am, if you have a fork back there, I have about an hour to spare." I went home to explain to my wife why I didn't have the courage to ask for their names to be misspelled on the cake after our initial conversation. A couple of days later, a friend admitted to actually laughing out loud when he read it. If only there were a way to say that with just a few letters. But then he followed up by saying he took the story, made it tweet-size and posted it to his Twitter account. My first reaction was not to thank him for finding me humorous. My first reaction was not to respond with some quote about imitation being the highest form of flattery.

Here is part of something I talked to my teens about this week. 42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” ~Mark 10:42-45.  Jesus points to a secular model and how those in charge let it go to their heads. But He says this is not the model for what He is doing. In the Church, the servants will be the greatest. Jesus puts an exclamation point on it all by saying that even He came to be a servant and to give up His life. This is foreign to our thinking. A King comes to conquer and live as long as possible. A King does not come to die. You can’t rule if you’re dead. You can’t be awesome if you’re no

So let's talk about how people talk to Jesus. Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.” ~Mark 10:35.  This was a very brazen thing for the disciples to do. I don’t know if teens today are aware of this, but you are called a generation of entitlement. People say it as an insult, meaning that your generation, as a whole, thinks that you should get whatever you want. You assume, generally speaking, that you should be able to get all A’s, play and win in any sport, learn any musical instrument, be given a phone, tablet and any of the latest gaming devices. Other generations see you expecting praise for doing nothing and assuming that jobs should be yours if you want them. Now, let me tell you that I think some of this unfair. It is a generalization, but even where it is true, previous generations have to take responsibility because we are the ones who have given you exactly what you want. Whoever is at

Ah, you have gotta love free movie weekends. It allows people who are a bit behind in their movie viewing to catch up.  Last week my wife taped a showing of  We Bought a Zoo . Rated PG, she thought it would be a family-type comedy, complete with animals and hilarious mishaps. Anyone who was watching current movies in 2011 already know that that  isn't true.  One look at  http://www.kids-in-mind.com/  for the movie rating gave us pause. I love that site. It gave us several reasons to hold off on the family movie party.  My wife and I ended up previewing it and realized it was clearly not made with families in mind. Now, let me say my problem is not with the makers of We Bought a Zoo . The movie was interesting at points, amusing at points and perhaps even caused my allergies to act up. Overall, it was a good story for my wife and I to enjoy together.  But who is in charge of rating movies? Seriously, this isn't the 80's when, at least looking back, we can all under

I have a Twitter account. You can follow me on there if you like, although I must admit I'm terribly exciting. @rick_nier if you so choose to follow. I just don't fiind that much time to visit the micro-blogging site. I try, and it's accounts like this that make me wish I did more. I'm going to thank Tony Myles over at More Than Dodgeball  for this retreat from the workload. http://www.morethandodgeball.com/general-ministry/parody-accounts-parody-reactions/ Face it. It's Friday and you were't planning on accomplishing much today anyway, right? Enjoy!

The  Lord  will lay bare his holy arm      in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see      the salvation of our God. ~Isaiah 52:10 God was flexing for the people. This is further proof that God is a guy. I've been married to my wife for 17 years, but I still don't miss a chance to pose in front of her. Just ask her. It's an impressive thing, but I don't want to make a deal out of it.  This verse is further proof to me that God is all about Him, which is what we should be as well. Can't you just picture God hearing the people of Earth bragging about this or that? Then He decides to roll up his sleeve and show everybody something worth talking about.  Welcome to the gun show indeed!

I thought this post was timely and appropriate. Well written, Max Lucado. It seems that in the dozen years since our country’s heart and skyline were ripped apart, we still struggle with how to spend this day that represents such pain and, even to this day, fear. 9/11 has come to serve as a day of remembrance for the many trials we have endured as a nation over this past decade. The continued threats and anxiety created by ongoing terror threats have become, if not normal, an ever present stressor. We wonder if we’ll ever be free of that sense of unease in our daily lives. The Boston bombing served as a reminder of this new reality. Violence continues to tear at our country from within – the mass shootings in Arizona, Colorado, and Sandy Hook. The unthinkable stories of the innocent victims and instant heroes in these situations have seared our consciousness, leaving us reeling with grief and disbelief. Natural disasters like Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Sandy, and other

So what do you do if you realize that someone is about to kill you? As I read my Bible, the answer is to tell a long story. Acts 7 is a perfect example. Stephen, a guy hired to help distribute food (read: waiter) was pulled before the religious leaders of the day to answer some accusations. Apparently Stephen was looking at the situation and decided his chances weren't good. So he began to tell a story. From the beginning. From the very beginning. The question was about what Stephen believed about Jesus. If someone asked me what I believed about Jesus, I might answer simply that He is the Son of God. He died for my sins and now I live for him. Even conservatively speaking, that's 2 Bible verses, tops. But Stephen had a different idea. They ask him the question and he begins by talking about Abraham. Yeah, father Abraham. The guy with many sons. Then Stephen takes these religious leaders on a walk through the Old Testament, something I am sure they adored. He spok

It's another Monday. For me, it means another day off. You might assume that means I'm feeling pretty good today. But it finds me hoping I can find a way to pack in enough rest so that when I drag myself across the finish line that is this coming Saturday, I will have enough strength.  I know as well as many of you how I should only concern myself with the to-do list of today. I'm pretty sure a Jewish carpenter gave that advice. Actually, it was probably more than advice. It finds me wondering how everyone else faces Mondays. If you're feeling the same way  and  you have to go to work or school...well, no wonder people hate Mondays.  I'm trying to remind myself of the truth found in Philippians 4.  Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  ~Philippians 4:6 We need to distinguish concerns and anxieties. A concern is something we take to God, then trust in His hands. Anxie

Okay, so my post title is not true. At all. But if you are an old codger, or know an old codger, you'll appreciate this. It seems someone took the time to compile some great quotes of old people talking about how much better it was back in the day. The only problem is that each of these old guys lived at different times. So, as Jon Seder over at Mental Floss , point out, there likely wasn't a real golden age. I work with and love teenagers. So for those of you who like to blame the youth for anything and everything, check this out . It's 15 quotes from grumpy old men doing what grumpy old men do best. Oh, it's also for anyone who wants to chuckle at the irony of it all. And anyone who likes reading ye olde English. 15 Historical Complaints.

Have you seen this story , coming out of Florida, about the cheerleaders whose uniforms are so heinous that they are no longer allowed to be worn during the school day? Fortunately, for high school guys everywhere, they can still be worn at sporting events.  I write this as a former Florida high school male who enjoyed seeing cheerleaders. But I write that last line, partly to my shame, as I am now a father of two daughters and pray against them ever wanting to wear those cheer leading outfits.  If you read the article, you'll see quotes from the parents of the cheerleaders. They, of course, are aghast at the whole situation. They can't believe something deemed appropriate for sporting events is deemed inappropriate for the school day. If you're looking for the collective face-palm worthy moment of this post, it's in this paragraph. What we should be aghast at is that we have been allowing our daughters to wear the skirts so short that even the school syste

Three weeks of neck pain. I don't want to get into any comparison with anyone who has chronic pain that lasts for years. But three weeks of neck pain for me is not common. Three weeks of neck pain can cause some problems.  First, there's the neck pain. For me, it means three weeks of telling my energetic children they can't jump on me and use me as a jungle-Rick. It's three weeks of turning my whole body to face people. And it started out as three weeks of guilt-free non-exercise.  The joy of not practicing discipline in physical exercise lasted about four days. Then I found myself at a loss as to what to do with all this energy. S ince my neck has been hurt I have been hungering for movement, for exercise, for the freedom to move.  I was becoming accustomed to trying to find positions that would avoid pain as I lay around...like a lump. Yeah, the ego took a hit as the lack of exercise had other adverse effects. As Hollywood's Reese Witherspoon so int

  "This is an adventure: setting out to do something that doesn't make sense, something for which you are not completely equipped, something that takes you into a place fraught with danger or uncertainty." Authors Shawn and Maile Smucker certainly know about adventures now, as evidenced in How to Use a Runaway Truck Ramp . Feeling like they hit rock bottom they made the decision most of us would make. Pack up for four months and travel around the United States. Wait, what? That's right. With some writing jobs to keep them busy, they hit the road and showed their four young children places many have never seen on a bus-turned-RV named Willie. The chapters are each about the length of a blog post. Humorous, real and, at times, very introspective and encouraging. It's like keeping up with friends who are on the greatest journey of their lives. On their journey away from home, or rather in their home on the road, they can see clearly to many things in their