Mental Musings

I have a confession. Today I did something that I almost never do. It is not that I have a philosophical problem with doing this or believe that doing this is counterproductive. It is something that I have done in the past, just not something that I typically do. And I think I know the reason why. As I was driving through Baltimore on my way to a meeting, I rolled down my window and motioned over a man standing with a sign so that I could give him some coins. I didn't have much on me, but he was thankful for what he got. The light turned green and I rolled my window back up and drove on my way. I didn't judge him for his condition. I didn't assume that he would just take the few dollars in coins that I gave him and go buy alcohol with it (probably costs more than that anyway). I didn't insist that he let me tell him about Jesus if I was going to give him money. There wasn't enough time between lights to even get to know his name or hear his story. I ...

Many churches in our area closed today due to extreme cold and dangerous driving conditions. With modern technology, churches can afford to be more concerned about their members safety, especially young children and the elderly. Plan in advance for inclement weather options: Stream a simple worship format using single worship leader or prepare some advance video footage from a previous worship service. Stream sermon using a laptop camera from the safety of your own home. Share in advance how members can find your streamed service or post links using social media, website notice, mass email, etc. at least 10 minutes in advance. If streaming is not possible for you, record the sermon using your laptop camera and post on YouTube, GodTube, or Vimeo. Share info with church. If video is not possible, post the sermon text as a blog for others to read. If you just do not use online tools, provide printed family worship guides that can be used when church is canceled for inclement w...

As with most anything else in our culture, romance has become commercialized. According to television, romance is a glass of wine as you cuddle on the floor beside a crackling fire. Reality is that floors are often hard and your body starts to ache within minutes. Just try propping yourself up on one elbow so that you can look longingly into your love's eyes. The pain in your elbow is going to show in your eyes and they will be saying, "Please can we just sit on the sofa?" Have you ever tried to hold a drink in one hand as you prop yourself up with the other arm tilted slightly to the side so you can stare into someone's eyes? If you drink enough alcohol maybe you can ignore the painful positioning and the cold floor, but you also will have much less coordination and likely spill your drink everywhere. I guess you could make a roaring fire and the floors will not feel so cold. But my wife and I are asthmatics, so sitting that close to a roaring fire is...

I think it is great when God challenges a church or individual to contact me and offer to help with events that we are planning. They almost always start off with an apology about not being able to support our church plant financially, but... While financial support is important for our church plant during the first 3 years, please don't feel that you need to apologise for not being at the point where you can help. There are 3 important parts of supporting church planters and church plants: Give - if you can do this, wonderful. God has given some the resources with which they can bless others. Some people are called by God to stretch themselves spiritually by sacrificially giving more than they thought they could. Many people start with our Dollar a Day challenge and commit to something that costs them less than a cup of coffee for the sake of reaching the lost and unchurched in Annapolis. Pray - This is the most important thing you can do to support church planting. We ne...

Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. So the saying goes. Most everyone believes this saying, even if they do not live by it. Just think of how often you yourself have rolled your eyes at a drug addict or a thief or a tax cheat and thought Will they never learn . Considering how many people seem to always live in the past, you would think more people would love history. We like to post Throw Back Thursday photos. We love to bring up the wrongs that others have done even as far back as their childhood. We love to talk about the good ol' days. Yet we never seem to learn from the past. I loved history: all those wars and diseases and kingdoms and more wars. I have always found different cultures to be interesting and loved learning what made them tick. This love of history led me to get my graduate degree in Music History. This love of history has led me to purchase study bibles and commentaries so I can better understand the historical context of ...

As a child I remember running to the local 7-11 with a quarter in my hand. That was my monthly allowance. I worked hard to get that quarter: push mowed our lawn, used a hand trimmer around the house and driveway, raked leaves, took our the trash, dried the dishes and put them away, and more.  All of that work has just paid off and I was about to reward myself with as much candy as I could stuff in my little pockets. But as I stood there in front of the penny candy with that quarter in my hand, I became the quintessential kid in a candy store: frozen with indecision. So much candy. I wanted it all, but I only had enough for some. I had to choose. Recently we visited Lolli and Pops in the Westfield Mall in Annapolis and it brought back memories of my childhood. They took us on a personal tour giving us samples of dozens of different, unique, and exquisite candies. Thousands of varieties of sweets all in one spot. How do you choose one from among them all? But if it ...

There are many places in our world where Christians face monetary and physical persecution for their beliefs. The more I read the news, the more I am convinced that the United States is moving toward that direction. It may be many years before Christians in the U.S. face physical persecution, but some have already faced fines, subpoenas, and even possible prison sentences for failure to pay for abortions or support homosexual marriage ceremonies. Christians all over the world need to be ready for persecution. Even if you never experience persecution, you will experience difficulties. When it happens, it will be easy to feel that you have been abandoned by God. You will wonder why God allowed this to happen to you when you were only doing what He called you to do. Even Job, the servant of renown, felt abandoned by God. For most of my life I heard pastors teach that even Jesus felt abandoned by God. They point to his cry from the cross when he shouted: Eloi, Elo...