Thoughts on Life and Worship

I AM WHO I AM: There is No Other Exodus 3:11-15 July 28, 2013 Introduction It has been quite a week for the royal family across the pond.  Over last weekend and into the early days of this week the question was when the royal baby would be born and whether or not it would be a boy or a girl.  I don’t’ know what the big deal was.  I know the baby is now third in line for the throne, but it just seemed silly to watch serious news anchors gush over the royal birth.  I rolled my eyes more than once during the news coverage until I could no longer take it.  Even after the prince was revealed, the world waited – or at least some did - for the revelation of his name.  Why all the fuss and the waiting.  We had our kids named even before they were born.  Then again, neither of my kids was destined to rule a nation.             Evidently, the naming of babies is a big deal – at least ...

July 21, 2013 Introduction During the last week, reaction from the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin case has dominated the news and has also triggered demonstrations in some cities around our nation.  Regardless of how you feel about the verdict, the whole story is very sad, resulting in the destruction of many lives.  A seventeen year old boy did not have the chance to grow into a mature and responsible man.  The one who shot him has found his life completely disrupted and he remains in hiding, fearing for his life.  All of this is wrong.  We should be shocked. Moral shock is the condition in which we react to circumstances that are so far out of kilter – so wrong – that they offend us to the deepest core of our being.  Tears of grief and angry rage are common manifestations.  Most of us experienced moral shock on September 11, 2001 when thousands of people lost their lives in the twin towers of New York as terrorists crashed two jetline...

July 7, 2013 Introduction My pathway to become the lead pastor of this church was very convoluted.  And I’m grateful for each and every twist and turn.  For the first ten years of my professional career, my full-time job was as a music specialist for kindergarten through middle-school aged children.  Later I would also teach first and fourth grades in the public schools during a season of disillusionment with the church.  Though teaching is one of my natural gifts, I had never intended to become a school teacher.  In fact, during the first seven years of my teaching career, I never signed a contract because I wanted to be in full-time church ministry.  I’m amazed now that my principal put up with me.  His patience is all the more amazing because for the first two years I could not control a classroom.  Everyone who has taught pre-school through high school knows that classroom control will make or break a teacher.  Many leave ...