Mental Musings

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My in-laws forwarded a prospectus from their pastor about his vision for their church during the next ten years. I can agree with almost everything he has to say. He showed a great desire to reach the lost and made a personal commitment for witnessing to the lost. The one main area that I disagreed with him was his statement about worship being a primary tool for reaching the lost and unchurched. Worship is not for the lost, it is an act of love by believers directed to God. When we gear worship for the lost, we are not worshipping, we are performing. The lost rarely accept Christ because of a worship service. That mentality is a holdover from when many lost people accepted Christ at tent revival meetings. Church members who look to those “glory days” fail to understand that most of the work in witnessing to the lost was done by evangelical teams prior to and during the revival. Try getting these same church members to join you in visiting a lost persons home and they most likely will ...

I started thinking about this today after my boys showed signs of being worn out from the Fourth of July activities at church this past week. Our two little PKs (Preacher’s Kids) have always had to spend many hours at churches. Because of the long hours of waiting at church while I prepare for, direct or clean up after a rehearsal, worship service or special program, they also get a little more freedom than most children to wander around the church buildings. They have learned some great secrets unknown to most children: secret hiding places, candy storage areas, closets full of special equipment, locked and mysterious rooms, etc. When I was a child, church members used to comment on how much trouble PKs would get into and how little the parents would do to keep an eye on them or discipline them. My father, a deacon, used to reply that the only reason Preacher’s Kids got into so much trouble is because they hung out with the Deacons’ Kids. My little PKs have also learned that they some...

Our nine year old son took it upon himself to try and convert his cousin, Nathan, this past week into one of his favorite pastimes: Pokémon videogames. Wendy explained to Zachary before his cousin came to visit that he was not into Pokémon. Zachary wanted to know why, but Wendy wasn’t really sure. She said she thought his parents did not have a problem with Pokémon, but she thought that Nathan had seen it once and thought it was evil. As soon as we picked up their cousin from the airport, Zachary decided to bring up the subject. He started by telling why he thought Pokémon was a great game. He then asked if Pokémon sounded fun. When he did not get a positive response, he decided to press the issue and asked, “Why don’t you like Pokémon?” Nathan said he did like it. Zachary, confused, then asked, “Well, why do you think it is evil?” When he found out that Nathan did not think it was evil, he immediately asked Wendy why she told him that. It was pretty funny to listen to. I imagine that ...

I just finished reading Ted Dekker’s newest book, “Skin.” While the overall book was just as interesting as his other books, I was somewhat disappointed in several aspects of the story line as well as the editing. I will try to share my thoughts without giving away any details of the story. I always get irritated when reading anything by a well established author that includes “printing” errors, but this went well beyond the dozen or so simple “printing” errors. There were several confusing sentences that I had to re-read in order to understand. The error was most likely due to poor editing. Some apparently necessary edits due to changes the author made in the storyline were not found by the author or editor. I noticed additional words in several sentences that were not removed in editing process. There was also an entire passage that seemed to be the thoughts of one of the characters, but the end of the paragraph included a quotation mark. I had to pause to consider if the passage was...

Healthy Pains of Growth (Based on John 15:2) © 1990 Steve Poole There is a garden well kept By a Masters tender care. Attended to throughout the year, His love is evident there. Cultivated for strength and growth, Mulched and weeded for protection. Watered daily by tears of joy And sweat drops of perspiration. In the center stands a tree With branches slightly swooning So the Master of the garden Prepares the tree for pruning. “I have been with you throughout the years, It started with your birth. You have grown quite strong and healthy. Your fruit has shown your worth. “While it’s hard to comprehend And may even seem unfair, I need to prune your branches back If more fruit you are to bear.” With the first clip came a shudder As the tree was shocked and pained. The Master with a tear soaked face Looked to the tree and explained. “while everything may seem alright From all outwardly appearances, I look inside straight to your heart Where I see many painful experiences. It is never easy ...

I am not a formal person. My idea of a perfect evening does not include going anywhere that would require me to get dressed up. My personal preference would be shorts (or jeans) and a t-shirt for almost any occasion. That does not mean that I would show up at a funeral or wedding dressed like that, but I sure do wish we could. Like most people my age or older, we were taught that you should put on your very best for Sundays to honor God. I seriously doubted that most people had God in mind when they picked out their clothes for Sunday worship. I always believed that people were dressing nice to impress others. So dressing up for church actually seemed more like a vanity thing to me. I am sure some people were genuine in their desire to present their best for God and I do believe that we should not bring God our junk. I am constantly amazed at how often the same people who think we should dress up for church want to donate their old furniture to the church. What happened to presenting y...