Rick Nier...Woo!

My basketball game is like my church involvement; I'm the worst player out there.  Allow me to go deeper. When I show up to play ball with some guys, sometimes the only positive I bring is making the teams even. I don't mean by picking the teams or by skill level. I mean they would have an uneven number of guys without me.  Oh, I have a few moves. I make a few shots. Even a blind dog can find the hydrant every once in a while. But in terms of skill level, I'm not bringing a whole lot to the table.  The same goes at church.  I do make the teams even. Okay,  even  in this sense is different, because not all churches have the same attendance. But what they do share in common is that never has a church had everyone show up on the same Sunday. I'm making that factoid up, but seriously, could you imagine.  Let me tell you an insider secret to being a pastor. We all have the same conversation with our spouse after every Sunday. It goes like this; H

I am going to a break from posting for a week, maybe two. I'll be back. While I am gone, you could fill your time by reading this awesome book by Rick Lawrence called Sifted. Had I not read this book on a kindle I could have shown you a worn and dog-eared copy. When I read a book, I have a pen or pencil handy. I underline and write in the margins. To assure I can find again what inspires me, I fold over the page I marked. The kindle allows me to highlight and bookmarks, which I use, but sadly you will not see those. But here are just a few of my many highlights. Danger is an essential aspect of any adventure; without danger, it’s not really an adventure. (Referring to Job and his friends) And if it seems crazy that mere men would dicker about their relative greatness while God sits a few feet away with a bemused smile on His face, then you don’t know yourself well.  It’s so important to remember the makeup of this man—otherwise, all that happens next is lost on us.

Do you know why people ask what you think? So they can tell you what they think. There are times when people ask my opinion. That is just stupid, for so many reasons. But I have come to realize that what they really want is to give their opinion. That's why they ask. In my opinion, they should simply ask me if they can present me with their thoughts. They would get to talk and I would get to save my breath. Someone, anyone really, and I will have a conversation that goes like this. Someone: What did you think of this book? Me: I liked it for the following reasons. Someone: Well, I hated it. Or they may ask about a movie we both recently saw. Someone: What did you think of that movie? Me: I thought it was epic for the following reasons. Someone: Here's why it wasn't good at all. Oh, ok. Perhaps if I took the advice given in James 1:19. "Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to g

Every so often it behooves us to write down a list of the things we are thankful for. Why now? Because it is my birthday today! Why 39 things? No reason at all. Without further adieu, here are the 39 things I am thankful for: Jesus. You didn't seriously expect a pastor to start anywhere else, do you? As you can read here on a regular basis, I readily acknowledge my insignificance without Jesus. My wife. No intelligent husband would put his wife any lower on such a list. I could give non-sarcastic reasons, but then this post becomes really long and sappy. Plus, Jennifer would wonder who actually write this.  My oldest daughter. The older the get, the more fun they get. My son. Just knowing there's a mini me to inflict on the world makes me happy. My youngest daughter. It's a little scary just how quickly she is taking on my sarcastic wit.  My home.  My vehicles. Even my scooter. I know exactly what I look like when I ride it. But when I can drive over 100 miles

When teens tell me that profane lyrics don't matter, I scoff. They say they can't understand them, since of course they neglected to see the explicit label when they purchased the song or have no reason to ever consider what these singers are talking about. Or, as one of my fave youth ministry gurus, Jonathan McKee , like to point out, teens see the absence of an explicit label and assume it must be all good. Besides, they only like the beat. I just roll my eyes. If lyrics don't matter, then all these thug rappers could be singing about lessons they picked up from watching Barney the purple dinosaur, right? If lyrics don't matter, then rockers could just as well be singing about good times they had while on the swing set. If the only thing that matters is the beat, then why do singers feel like a message they feel passionate about is so important to communicate? Lyrics do matter. They tell us what the singer cares about. It reveals where their passions lie. But let'

I have never been a huge fan of yard work. I like it to look nice but anything beyond mowing is just not something I am going to see the need for. Lucky for me, I have a wife who sees the need. Yep....lucky. for. me. I am so lucky, in fact, that my wife and I decided our kids should be involved in the care and maintenance of yard work. We decided this because misery loves company  we believe in the power of teamwork. So while my wife would yield the larger power tools (think mower and trimmer) we'd show our kids sticks that needed to be collected or weeds to be pulled. What's going to work? Teamwork! This past weekend I was teaching my older two kids to use the lawn mower. I dream of a day when I will sip lemonade and watch the servants, or as my wife likes to call them, the children, mow the lawn. So I showed them how to pull the string to get it started, to press on the handle to propel the motor, etc. I showed them back and forth and then handed them the mower. What I didn&

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going. ~Ecclesiastes 9:10 Maybe this will be a good way for all of us to let out our frustration today. After all, it is a Monday. When I first read this verse, the part about no work and no thought instantly stood out to me. The second thought to hit me was that this verse makes complete sense when you consider Sheol, or Hell, is where people go who don't choose God. (It's Monday, can we keep the deep theology to a minimum today?) The only place devoid of God would very much be lacking in wisdom and knowledge. Clearly nobody down there is thinking. And much to the chagrin of some guys in my youth group, there is no work in Hell. I say chagrin because I recently shared with them scripture that talks about us doing work in Heaven. I also say chagrin (now 3 times) because it makes me sound smart. Solomon was correct to encourage us all to do w