To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here What exactly does Jesus ask of his followers? Most of us quietly hope it won’t be too costly. Author Anne Lamott wonders aloud, “Why couldn’t Jesus command us to obsess about everything, to try to control and manipulate people…to stomp away to brood when people annoy us, and then eat a… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Have you ever bought a product because it had a great rebate, but you never got around to sending it in? Manufacturers and retailers everywhere want to thank you. And they sincerely hope you sustain this helpful pattern of behavior – helpful for manufacturers and retailers, that is. Rebates are one… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here The most tragic survivor of the sinking of Titanic was surely J. Bruce Ismay. The dapper, mustachioed managing director of the White Star Line often chose to travel on the maiden voyage of each of his company’s new ships. He wouldn’t have missed Titanic’s first cruise for the world. In retrospect,… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Membership has its privileges. That’s the marketing slogan American Express copyrighted in 1980, the beginning of what became a “what’s-in-it-for-me” American decade. As one would-be church member asked me while I was planting a Presbyterian congregation during that time, “What do I get if I join?” The first time I replied… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Here’s a riddle: Fifteen turtles are sunning themselves on an old log. Six of them decide to jump into the water. So how many turtles are still sunning themselves on the log? That’s easy. The correct answer is fifteen. Wait: Didn’t we say that six of them decided to jump into the water? We did. But as leadership gurus Barry… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here If you lived in Bible times and spoke Hebrew, you were compelled to say a lot with a very limited vocabulary. Scholars have identified just 8,679 unique Hebrew words in the text of the Old Testament. Compare that to the more than one million words available to modern English speakers. Nor did Hebraic communication… Read more »
To listen to this reflection as a podcast, click here Throughout the month of August, we’re looking at Ecclesiastes, that strange and seemingly “modern” Old Testament book that depicts what happens when humanity searches for ultimate meaning apart from God. There’s no substitute for simple, clear instructions. Check out these statements on actual products: On a hotel shower cap: Fits on head.On a washing machine: Do not… Read more »
To listen to this reflection as a podcast, click here. Every day during this season of Lent we’re looking at one of the “3:16” verses of the Bible, spotlighting some of the significant theological statements that happen to fall on the 16th verse of the third chapter of a number of Old and New Testament books. “So, because you are lukewarm… Read more »
To listen to this reflection as a podcast, click here. Life is tough enough without making mountains out of mole hills. In her book Fierce Conversations, corporate trainer Susan Scott recalls the family job assignment given to her brother Sam. Every Saturday during his teen years, Sam awoke to the task of tackling the Mole Problem. “Our yard was mole central,” she writes. … Read more »
In 2004, a 15-year-old student turned an extra credit project into a national movement. California high schooler Shauna Fleming was unsettled when she heard a news report that American military personnel serving overseas were feeling unappreciated on the home front. She began to think about the community service credit she could earn at school. “Dad,” she said to her father, who was… Read more »
