I can't tell you how frustrating it is to see clearly how to help somebody and them reject your advice. I have a painful situation in my life where a dear person is addicted to drugs. This gifted and talented person is so gripped by this addiction that they now sit in a jail cell…
I remember when I was a police officer investigating an incident. One particular moment was really fascinating. It was a car accident and there were several witnesses to the crash. As I spoke to each person it seemed everyone had a different perspective about what happened. It was almost like I was hearing about several…
There's an old saying: "There are two things you don't want to watch being made - Sausage and Church Politics!" Funny. But the humor reveals some challenges that, if we face them, will help us weather times of conflict and even scandalous behavior by people we thought should know better.
The truth is it isn't…
What were these people doing sitting in our pew?!?! I could see it on their faces. A new family visiting the parish for the first time had sat down in an area where a long time member of the parish had sat "forever!" They even had a plaque at the end of the pew announcing…
The great Curtis Mayfield wrote a song in the 1960's that was heavily influenced by his early years in the church of his youth. This song, "People Get Ready," hit the American music scene at a time of great social turmoil. The lyrics hit home with me even today!
People get ready, there's a train…
Halfway isn't enough. What use is a bridge that's only halfway constructed. Yep, that's right. It's a dead end!
No wonder we are always encouraged to "finish what you start." "It's always too early to give up." I always teach my girls that, if they want to accomplish anything, finish what's in front of you.…
"Ok, OK, let's move along. Nothing to see here!" With that I was trying to break up the gawking crowd that had gathered around a particularly messy car crash. The problem was these folks seemed to be glued to the scene even as the scene was being cleaned up. It's over. It's done. It's time…
It was so cool to watch this young man, wise beyond his years, share his insight about his philosophy of life. It was both encouraging and touching. Of course there were some areas he was still not very mature in and that showed. But still, to watch this teenage boy talk well beyond his years…
"Hey, did you hear the latest?" Oh, how we love a juicy story, especially if it means I know something nobody else knows! All you have to do is look at the tabloids in the grocery store to see how much we love telling or hearing something new!
There's two sides to this desire, by…
A man by the name of Rob Bell once said "When someone sets out to be controversial or provocative or shocking as an end in itself, I don't think that' a noble goal." And I agree. Provocation for provocation's sake is not very helpful. Being shocking just to get a reaction is rarely constructive.
But…