Month: November 2018

“I’ve Seen Lonely Times When I Could Not Find a Friend” ~ James Taylor

One of the most famous singer/songwriters of all time, writing one of the most heartbreaking songs of all time, lets us in on his loneliness.
How can someone that famous feel lonely – ever?

It’s common to everyone – rich, poor, famous, insanely famous – nobody gets a break from this emotion – one that, many times, feels impossible to deal with.

As someone in their early 50’s, I’ve experienced it multiple times. Some of these episodes lasted so long I began to wonder if it would ever end, while I’ve had other moments where I felt anything but lonely.

Currently, life seems fine, but I expect the next few chapters of my life to be just as marked by lonely times as the previous chapters have been.

But that doesn’t scare me. I don’t like feeling lonely, but I’ve learned how to deal with it, and to expect something good when it ends. Following are some tricks, truths, Continue reading How to Deal With Loneliness

I sat in service a few months ago and listened as one one of the pastors addressed the importance of “cross culture” ministry, i.e., reaching beyond the white church status quo to be welcoming and accommodating to people who aren’t like us.

He prefaced his sermon with this:

“If you look around this morning, you’ll see that we’re predominately white, and that’s OK because our city is predominately white. If it wasn’t, it’d be a bad thing because we’re supposed to represent the color of our community.”

I went home and did some quick demographic research on the city this pastor referred to in his sermon. He was right, his city was mostly white, except for one area where most of the non-white people lived, the neighborhood where his church resided.

A Bridge Too Far

Sunday morning is “our” time. We want to show up, hob-nob with our friends, catch up, connect, feel good, and be comfortable.

If there’s one thing we do well in the American church, it’s catering to the whims/preferences of her congregants. Continue reading Will Your Church Cross the Culture Bridge?

Road rage, political anger, mass shootings, divorce, depression – all on the rise here in the US. It’s frightening to think about where things are headed.

It’s easy, sometimes down right entertaining to pass judgment on people who perpetrate all this bad stuff. We talk about how they’re ruining our country, ruining the future, making things difficult for everyone.

We of course have nothing to do with what’s unraveling in our culture. We’re the good people – we never rant on social media, belittle someone for their political views, or react with rudeness and disrespect when a lowly employee doesn’t respond as they should.

We always, in every way possible, spread kindness and peace, right?

Not me. While I’m trying hard to be the good in this world, I can’t seem to Continue reading Be the Good You Expect to See In The World