Rick Nier...Woo!

Imagine we know this guy. But he's got some problems. Everyone is aware of this guy and his problems. And like most guys who have problems, this guy's problems become other people's problems.  Maybe we didn't care to do anything about this guy when his problems were just his problems, but now that his problems are everyone's problems, we agree something has to be done.  So we do something.  We problem solve. We attempt solutions. But let's assume none of our solutions work. As crazy as it sounds, we might stop attempting solutions.  Really?!? In the Gospel of Mark, we read about Jesus and His guys coming across just such a scenario. So they arrived at the other side of the lake, in the region of the Gerasenes. When Jesus climbed out of the boat, a man possessed by an evil spirit came out from the tombs to meet him. This man lived in the burial caves and could no longer be restrained, even with a chain. Whenever he was put into chains and shackles...

I prayed for my kids today. I prayed that they would avoid or rise above the tools, the jerks, the mean kids that populate our schools. As I prayed I wondered where those kids come from. What is their home life? What makes them tick? Then I prayed that my own kids would not be the type of kids I was praying for their protection from.  You see, if we accept the fact that we're all sinners, then we have to accept that our own little angels might not always be angels. There is no one righteous. We all needed the sacrifice of Jesus for our salvation. That mean that each of us need strength to not be the reason another person has to endure. For awhile, way back when I first had a child of my own, I assumed these monsters grew under rocks and were the spawn of some wild dingoes that were allowed to integrate into regular society.  But then Jennifer and I had a second child. And we encouraged them to play together. That is, until we didn't. There were moments when we sud...

All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for coaxing, relaxing, sharing and making people feel good about themselves.  You don't remember Paul writing that to Timothy? Me neither. But by the way people act in church, one might assume this is what we believe about scripture. We all like using a scripture verse to prove something we already believe. But when one is used against us and our personally held, but not well thought out, convictions, then we begin to squirm. Actually, we do more than squirm. We cry out. We blame. We point fingers. We shoot the messenger. There must be something wrong with the other, because otherwise I might have to look inward. How dare that pastor try to teach me something new? Doesn't he realize that might cause me to change? And when those same scriptures are used to rebuke me? Get off your high horse pastor! We can be friends, but not if you're going to meddle in my personal affairs. If I wanted to be corrected, I'd go see ...

Here you and I are, just starting our day with a bowl of Cap'n Crunch, and people are out there making changes in the way we are governed. And there are other people out there studying the impact it makes on people.  So what changes and what impact are we talking about today? The impact made on high school students when states change the policies about same-sex marriages. You can read the article here for yourself , but here is a summary of their findings; This difference-in-differences analysis of representative data from 47 states found that same-sex marriage policies were associated with a 7% reduction in the proportion of all high school students reporting a suicide attempt within the past year. The effect was concentrated among adolescents who were sexual minorities. Translation: They asked adolescents who would identify as something other than heterosexual if they had attempted suicide before and after the legalization of same-sex marriages.  Please note, that w...

Abraham. Moses. They would be great examples. Joseph, Gideon, Daniel and even Job would be good examples. Although I wouldn't want to compare what I'm going through to Job. Especially when it comes to wives. My wife has never encouraged me to curse God and die. She has threatened to cause me harm, but I'm fairly certain that was because I was acting like one of the kids . I digress. The point is I can direct your attention to plenty of people from history who have heard a command from God and obeyed. What made their obedience impressive was they often had no idea where they were going and what exactly would happen when they got there. Abraham, especially, has been a man of faith I have been thinking about a lot lately. The dude is just living his life, for a long time in one place, just doing his thing. Then he gets a call from God to move. He's given a promise and told to trust. And Abraham does. Now I'm not attempting to put myself on the level of Abraham,...

Dear Indiana,  I know I've lived here for most of my adult life, so this may seem a bit late in coming. I understand that living in Indiana means loving, or at least tolerating, basketball. Don't get me wrong. I've watched Hoosiers. It's good.  I do love basketball. I enjoy playing it, watching it and even talking about it. I don't root for your teams, but I get the love for this sport.  But there's a few things we need to clear up. You see, my middle school son started playing for one of your teams this year. Needless to say, the experience has only confirmed what I already suspected.  The place in your heart that this sport holds, at least borders on idolatry. I should also mention that I am a youth pastor. So I have watched time and time again as basketball crowds out the space for anything else. I know what lessons can be learned when our sons and our daughters learn to sacrifice and work as part of a team. But I also know the lessons that a...

Over and over again, God’s love for us has been proven by action. We are called to reciprocate. We are called to commit. And most of us will nod our heads in agreement, believing we have committed. We talk about commitment. I’ve been reading through the book of Isaiah recently and came across this little pearl. In the year when King Sargon of Assyria sent his commander in chief to capture the Philistine city of Ashdod, the Lord told Isaiah son of Amoz, “Take off the burlap you have been wearing, and remove your sandals.” Isaiah did as he was told and walked around naked and barefoot. ~Isaiah 20:1-2 Oh, ok. Now it’s not enough to simply declare and teach the Word of the Lord. There’s a uniform. But wait, there’s more. Then the Lord said, “My servant Isaiah has been walking around naked and barefoot for the last three years. ~Isaiah 20:3 Hold on. Three years?!? Isaiah walked around in nothing but what God gave him for 3 years!?! On the bright side, you’d save time doing laundry. But...