Rick Nier...Woo!

I recently officiated a wedding. The ceremony was simple, lovely, and ended with another couple professing to keep the covenant of marriage. But it all started with a clarification...from me. At our first premarital counseling session, as I have done with every couple I have agreed to marry, I clarified a couple of matters. First, I officiate Christian weddings, where both spouses-to-be are professing Christians. I firmly believe that marriage is difficult enough, without adding disagreements about God into the mix. Second, as a minister of Jesus Christ, I believe the pastor’s role in a wedding is to represent the blessing of God on that union. So we have several sessions of premarital counseling where we discuss married life. It’s not that I have this imaginary card in my head, with a picture of me on the front and my stats on the back. (You know, like a baseball card.) Ok, I do picture cards. Pastor cards! And being a competitive guy, I want my stats to look good. The number of coupl...

I am more than halfway through the last year of dropping one of my children off at school. It's my eighth grade daughter, for anyone keeping track of my family.  See, next year she will be at the high school, and her brother will drive her. He says that it's not cool for seniors to drive their freshman sister to school, but I bet it's cooler than being dropped off by your mom in a minivan.  So rather than groan about this daily responsibility, I've been reminiscing about what the drop-off line used to look like, way back in elementary school. Once our children were about halfway through their elementary years, the drop-off line became a test of patience.  Do you know which group you do not want to get caught behind in the parent drop-off line at an elementary school? The kindergartners. These little ones are barely able to walk, but now we put them in the high-pressure situation of trying to unbuckle their seat-belt, grab their backpack (which might be as tall as they a...

The leadership had discussed, deliberated and decided. There had certainly been debate. People felt strongly on both sides.  ‘If we allow this to happen, everything we stand for will mean nothing.’ Honestly, both sides were saying it and both felt it was a matter of salvation. ‘Agree with me or I don’t know how you could possibly be a Christian.’ After all, all the facts support my view. If you choose to believe otherwise, it is only because of  your preconceived or ill-conceived view of matters. I cannot possibly be judged for considering you to be less intelligent, less caring, or less than Christ-like if you oppose my view.  That’s what everyone, on both sides of the argument, was saying. The issue at hand was, of course, circumcision. I’m sorry, did you assume I was talking about something else?   The Council in Jerusalem had just met. It’s recorded in Acts 15 if you’d like to review it. Everyone who was anyone was there and they made certain their voice was hear...

If I told you that you needed to trust in God, you might assume that you already do. After all, you've went to church, or at least you did before a global pandemic hit our planet. Now you watch church and you're doing your best to balance the realities of our new normal with the lessons on trust you remember from your past. After all, God never said you shouldn't go see a doctor, and I'm not advocating that you only practice home healthcare.  But considering all the many amenities available to us, even during a worldwide crisis, it's fair to ask ourselves if we're living lives of trust or simply living with enough less to differentiate ourselves from those gluttonous monsters who never acknowledge God.  Do We Really Want to Compare? If comparisons are your game, let's play this game we can't possibly hope to win. Would you spend 100 years of your life building a boat in preparation for a worldwide flood? Never mind that Noah had previously never heard of...

The other day I was talking with my neighbor, and we were discussing all the raking we had been doing. (Needless to say, I have done more, but that’s not the point.)  I wondered aloud what it would be like if God had designed all the leaves to fall off the trees at the same time. The thought of being under a tree when all of its leaves came down in one big lump amused me. Can you imagine the trauma it might cause kids who are playing outside? The thought amused me even more.  My neighbor, who takes care of his yard to a degree that most of us can only aspire to (and then some) commented that we’d all have dead grass. Thanks, Johnny Raincloud. He might be right. Seeing a pile of leaves waist-deep would be very discouraging and might keep more of us from all the raking that we do. After all, we still rake all the leaves, but the work has been spread out over weeks.  Yes, I’m getting tired of my rake now, but a pile consisting of every leaf my trees ever held would feel insu...

I think you’re going to be glad you read my blog today. I think I’ve stumbled upon a great new idea that will revolutionize all your relationships. Which is to say, I’m going to attempt to tell you in a new way the old truth that has always been intended to be a part of healthy relationships.  So let’s clearly define the problem.  (Takes deep breath and attempts informercial announcer voice) Do you find yourself struggling with people? Have you been up late at night wondering what’s going on in their heads? Does the thought of living in this mysterious middle ground of not knowing their thoughts yet not being able to help others leave you feeling distressed? Is there anything that can be done? Yes, there is! From the Maker of relationships comes this revolutionary new product called Discourse. Yessss, Discourse has been found to remedy confusion, misunderstanding, breakdowns in communication, hurt feelings, lack of emotional connection, and so much more.  Here’s the best ...

Let's take driving, for example. I'm in the process of teaching my son how to drive. He's the second child I'm teaching, so I feel like I've got a good handle on what needs to happen.  It's not like the first time I took my oldest out driving, started her at a stop sign in our quiet neighborhood and assumed she would know how to turn the steering wheel. Man, if street signs could talk, they would tell you about the day a crazy, tiny ginger played chicken with them. We're only a few lessons in with my son, but so far, so good. One of the things I'm teaching him is that you have to pay attention when you're driving. This would seem obvious, but my experiences with so many other drivers tells me it isn't.  via GIPHY Nowhere is this more painful than at four-way stops. It may seem confusing, but only if you don't understand how a clock works. (You see, the driver to the left yields to the driver on the right, and then it works around the...

via GIPHY I don't know about you, but I have a lot of questions when I read the Bible. Even from the very beginning. I'm four chapters in and there is a lot happening. Adam and Eve have become the scapegoats for all of us to blame. Cain became the first in a long line of cases of sibling rivalry. Then we read about some of Cain's descendants. Then some interesting commentary happens. Adam and Eve have another boy. Seth grows up and he has a boy. And check this out; "When Seth grew up, he had a son and named him Enosh. At that time people first began to worship the   Lord   by name." ~Genesis 4:26 Excuse me?!? This is when people first began to worship the Lord by name. Really? How is that even possible? I'm one of those guys that accepts we don't know how long Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden. How much time passed between Genesis, chapter two, and Genesis, chapter three? It could've been weeks, coul...

via GIPHY We often ask why Adam and Eve, after having eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, did not eat from the tree of life. After all, surely they knew what was to be gained from doing so. God seems to indicate that He needed to evict them from the garden before they did so in order to keep them from gaining eternal life in a manner that was not intended.  One might, with evil intent, wonder why eating from the tree of life was not their very next move. Again, God admitted they had elevated their nature in knowing good and evil.  I think I found the answer. "At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves." ~Genesis 3:7 They were too busy covering their shame. It makes me wonder... How often do we miss out on life because we are dealing with the consequences of our sin?

Do you know what a whipping boy is? I looked it up. It's  a person who is blamed or punished for the faults or incompetence of others.  The problem with a whipping boy is that he is whipped so often people begin to assume he deserves it. Or the boy just accepts his fate and acts into the very nature of who people believe he is.  But who is defending the whipping boy? Who is taking a second look and asking if the boy really deserves all of the ire he is receiving? Today, it’s me.    via GIPHY Social Media is the Whipping Boy  Social media is just entering its adolescent years, and like many adolescents, it is acting in some strange and unconventional ways that make people question what is going on.  Many words have been written about the dangers of social media, none the least of which would be the supposed separation from real life interactions. But it doesn’t take a highly educated look to put some things together and no...

My kids are all teenagers now, but I can still recall the bedtime routines we had when they were younger. It was pretty much the same routines you have likely had. Brushing of the teeth, reading of books, last hugs and kisses, and mooing like cattle from the living room to the bedroom. via GIPHY What, you never did that last one? Hmmm, ok. I guess that’s a story for another post.  Now that my kids are 18, 16, and 13, the routines have changed. For instance, on nights without school, I’m the first to go to bed. But I digress. One routine has remained. And it happens because of my youngest child asking for it every night before she goes to bed.  Will You Pray With Me? It’s prayer. Every night she asks us to pray with her. Now I’m not saying she’s more spiritual than her siblings. She would say that, but I’m not saying that.  In fact, the manner in which she sometimes asks us to pray reveals it. Feels more like her ticket to sleep than an actual desire ...

Have you ever come across someone who was really bold, but not necessarily in the good way? It's the person you agreed to give a ride to, and along the way they ask you if they can make a second stop. It's someone asking for money and then you watch them spend it on something they didn't need. It could be the child who comes to the dinner table and announces why they don't like what you cooked. Maybe it is the people who refuse to help, yet criticize the work being done.  The nerve of some people, right? It's the guy being crucified next to God. This guy being crucified for being a thief. Yeah, the guy who, according to Roman rule, deserved to be there. We're given no indication that this guy, this thief, had anyone there who was about to miss him. That guy. He turns to Jesus and asks if he can get into Heaven.  Can you believe that? via GIPHY The only thing more incredible than his request is the answer he receives from Jesus.  Yes. Ye...

I’m almost an adult.  I’m sure I’m not the first parent in history who is sick of hearing that phrase. For those who may not have experienced such a thrill, it happens when your child is seventeen and decides the rules and limitations you have placed on them should no longer apply.  Because, after all, they are almost an adult. What’s So Special About Eighteen? Ah, eighteen, that magical age when you suddenly become capable of making every decision for yourself. Why? Because the government, that institution we trust with so many important decisions, declares you to be an adult. After all, you’re able to die for your country. You’re qualified to help decide the next leader of our nation. And you can smoke.  Welcome to the club! You’re an adult! Woohoo! You’re now free and independent, with no authority left to rule over you and give you any restrictions. No authority except for landlords, bosses, police officers, and the aforementioned government o...

Here is how some conversations with myself go.  Me: I should post a new article on my blog a couple of times each week. Also me: You haven’t posted an article in over a month! Me: This time could be different. I could be more focused. Sarcastic me: Yep, because that’s how life works.  Really Sarcastic Me: Please hurry because dozens of people are waiting on pins and needles to hear your thoughts.  The really sarcastic me can often be quite mean. And, to be honest, some conversations with myself are way worse than this one.  The truth is, I have no promises to myself, nor guarantees to you, on how often I am going to post. An honest review of my posts reveals too many that start with “Wow, it’s been a while since I posted...remember when I said I wanted to write?”  Here is what I am telling myself, while pushing the mean and sarcastic voices down. I have something to say. I have something to offer. Encouragement, hope, insight. S...

I have told a few people about my family’s word of the year. You know about this trend, no doubt. Equal parts resolution and trendy reminder to oneself of something you want to achieve. For my family, it came almost as a whim. We had chosen the word adventure the year before. It fit within the context of what we were going through.  Honestly, the adventure hasn’t ended, but I felt a need for us to grow in the place where this adventure had taken us.  Extra.   It was fun to me because of how my teenagers were using the word. Extra. If someone is doing anything they view as unnecessary or over the top, they are considered extra. You'll have no problem imagining that my kids see me as extra several times every day. If you want to see extra, come and watch a teenager react when you tell them something they don’t want to hear.  But we chose the word  extra . We said we wanted to engage in life more than we had before. We wanted to represent C...

Like so many people, I end each year thinking about the year that was, and perhaps even resolving how I want the new year to go. But I guarantee you, no matter how much time I put into thinking last December, I never could have guessed how 2017 was going to go . For starters, here's a couple of sentences I never thought I would speak. I’m dropping the kids off at youth group.  I’m ok being without a job for a few months.  Both sentences go together, because as many of you know, I told the church I had youth pastored at for 15 years that God was telling me it was time to go. Now I know that when someone invokes the voice of God into a decision, it can sound like they're passing the blame onto the Deity. After all, who's going to argue with the voice of the Lord? I imagine people largely fall into 2 categories on this matter. Group #1 imagines the youth pastor just wants a change, but doesn't want people to dislike him for making the choice to leave. Group ...

Awhile ago I posted news about a new job my wife had attained, one which I never saw coming. My wife works at a church we had known about for years. She is loving it and, I'm told, they are loving her. I still struggle to find a word better than perfect  to describe my wife in this Children's Ministry role. Not long after, I admitted I still had questions . Now that I knew we would not be moving (a prayer, by the way, my children all admitted praying) and I realized I could look for something local and long-term, the question was simple. What would I find to do? My search continued. My prayers continued to fill God's ears. That God was listening, I have no doubt. I filled my time as a substitute teacher . I found myself in many different schools, meeting many different people. As much fun as it was, and it was (most of the time), I knew substitute teaching could not be a long-term answer for the needs of my family. Although it was nice to see checks coming with my na...

We often criticize the Israelites for being unfaithful while wandering in the desert, always with sinful attitudes, even while daily receiving miraculous food from Heaven. How could they be so blind? How could they be so stupid? Didn’t they realize they were receiving daily blessings from God? Didn’t they understand that, every single day, God was proving to them that He thought of them, remembered them, and was providing for them? Every. Single. Day. Of course, we could never be so blind. That is, unless we put ourselves in their shoes. Then we might not be so quick to judge. We are told they needed to go out and get the amount of food they needed for that day.  Then the Lord said to Moses, “Look, I’m going to rain down food from heaven for you. Each day the people can go out and pick up as much food as they need for that day. I will test them in this to see whether or not they will follow my instructions. On the sixth day they will gather food, and when they prepare it, there...

Since leaving the youth ministry position I had held for 15 years, jumping into a still unknown future, I have been purposeful about some of the books I have picked up. I realized that this season, where I would get to choose what to read and focus on, might not come again for some time. In the words of a pastor, it might be the sabbatical no church was going to give me. So I chose a book on purpose. I chose a book on listening for God’s voice. And my latest read is about measuring success by making choices differently than the average person might. The Last Arrow by Erwin McManus is that and more. The subtitle, Save Nothing For The Next Life , gives you a peek into the direction McManus would take his reader. Using the short story of Elisha and King Jehoash in 2 Kings 13. If you’re not familiar, Jehoash is king of Israel and he is in trouble. Going to Elisha for help, the unique prophet asks the king to strike the ground with a quiver if arrows. The kings does so, strikin...

I have a fool proof system which tells me when I am being annoying. It’s my teenage daughter. Level one annoyances might merit a smirk from her. Level two gets the eye roll. But when I am full on annoying I get the eye roll plus a loud “Oh my goo-ood-ness." The goodness is exaggerated and elongated to include more syllables than the word actually contains, so there is no confusion on my part.  As her dad, I understand there is a balance of being a parent that cares what she thinks and being a parent that knows she'l thank me later. But there is also another continuum, where as an inquisitive mind, I stir the pot and see how much I can push her before I start to get eye rolls from her mom. I've had plenty of time to learn the non-verbal communication system from the wife. "Oh my goodness" doesn’t just come out when I’m an annoyance. It comes out whenever the teenage daughter is annoyed by anything, which could be dumb drivers who chose to leave their house 5 mi...