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Friends with benefits. This common term describes “a friend with whom one has sex without a romantic relationship or commitment” (dictionary.com). But you already knew that, right? And while the term is fairly recent, it’s gone by a number of names for quite some time. I’m sure you already know them. But don’t expect…
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I never thought I’d write a title like that. To me, American Christianity’s greatest struggle comes with not taking the words of Jesus seriously; we prefer following our desires and cultural values. But a recent event showed my error. Here’s the backstory. Jesus taught…
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A year after Dad retired, he semi-jokingly said he couldn’t understand how he used to do all his daily duties in addition to a full-time job. I didn’t get it then. Now in retirement myself, I finally do. Life tumbles in. We all juggle so many demands that we get stressed, we get short-tempered, we get rushed. I still have to craft a weekly schedule of needed tasks that go beyond daily duties. This week features 22 tasks and 9 major appointments. This is retirement? 😉
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Welcome to Day 4, our journey’s end. Christmas has come! We’ve seen Jesus as a humble human, a conquering king, a reconciler. At the core—Jesus is God’s gift to us. A gift so great we can get lost in him. A gift so great it can break the back …
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OK, true confession time. I watched “American Idol.” Not recently, mostly in the early years. Some performers caused me to cringe and almost resurrected my desire to be a rock star—almost. Others I grew to appreciate, and enjoy hearing their music on the radio or Pandora. However, the premise of the show stimulated some thoughts. If an idol represents ultimate value, then what is America’s idol? Or, more specifically, might the American church, at times, have an idol we value more than God?
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Forget Judge Judy—even though reports claim she’s the highest paid woman on television. Forget Judge Wapner—even though he was the first TV judge on the old “People’s Court.” Why? Put me in a worship service, and my church seat miraculously transforms itself into a judge’s bench. Just replace Judge Judy’s pic above with mine, and you get the idea. Well, skip the best paid and the gender, but you get the picture.
I judge the music—is it loud and strong enough, too loud, or too hymn-like?
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