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Whatever Happened to the Paper Towels?
I remember, years ago, when all public restrooms had the same towels. They were on a roll, in a dispenser, with a little handle on the right side that, when cranked, produced a never ending loop of blue cloth towel material. Eventually, paper rolls replaced cloth. I think this happened because most of us wondered how the dispenser knew where the dirty towels stopped, and the clean towels began. Next came folded paper towels in recessed dispensers and vertical rolls of paper towels that when dispensed produced a paper towel “rope”. After that came the electric hand dryer that was to replace paper forever and be environmentally friendly. Now we’ve…
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Becoming Fully Human
For the past seven years, my favorite go-to t-shirt has been a maroon one that simply reads “becoming fully human.” Never mind that I didn’t have a clue what the phrase meant. The shirt was soft with a lived-in feeling and I liked the abstract design on the front. It also was a great conversation starter. The inked cashier at Whole Foods told me that he loved “that band” and someone else commented “surely there is alien life somewhere out there.” Hmm… somehow I don’t think that is what Oklahoma Baptist University had in mind when they chose “becoming fully human” as the theme of “Welcome Week,” the orientation week…
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Five Components of an Effective Children’s Ministry in a Small Church
Suppose you are a recent hire at a small church with a very small children’s ministry. Fewer than one hundred people attend your church, but it is located in a good location where you expect solid growth over time, particularly if you can initiate and maintain a thriving children’s ministry. What do you do when you have a small children’s ministry? How can you maintain and build an effective children’s ministry? Have a plan. If anyone else is on staff in children’s ministry, sit down with them and plan out how you will effectively reach children in your church. Take the time to train your volunteers well. Prepare…
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Hail, Mary
Our new church home has plunged into the pages of Luke, so yesterday we had a bit of Christmas in July with the Annunciation and Mary’s magnificent response. I’ve written on Mary before but she’s worth coming round to again and again. Her life is a beautiful melody full of rapturous high notes but written in a dark, minor key. And it's an important reminder for me right now. My husband and I have just moved our family across several states to follow God’s call to a new church, and I suppose I had unspoken expectations of how he would reward our obedience. Mistake. Our domestic…
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Our Freedoms
Today, many Americans will grill burgers, eat red, white and blue cake, watch fireworks and maybe even a parade. Today is a day of celebration in the U.S.A. We celebrate our independence from Great Britain since 1776. As Americans, we are grateful for the freedoms we have because of the great work and sacrifices of others. And yet so many live without even a fraction of our freedoms. So many in the world live without the freedom to speak, the freedom to learn, the freedom to travel, the freedom to worship, the freedom to choose work, the freedom to eat and on and on. So many live in slavery of…
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God of Small Things
We equate smallness with insignificance. So we celebrate birthdays but not ordinary days. We introduce ourselves to the CEO instead of our new officemate. We applaud graduation speeches and poetic sermons yet hush the little girl sitting next to us. In so doing we make a value statement about what matters in life: bigness, brilliance, and uniqueness. But what if the moments that mattered most were the quiet ones? What if the people of greatest significance were those without nameplates or titles? What if the most impactful words we ever heard were uttered in whispers and high pitches? Flip through the pages of scripture and you’ll find simplicity celebrated and…
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An Open Letter to Senior Pastors – Your church is in crisis….
If your house were on fire, would you want a neighbor to tell you? If your tests from a recent physical showed a fatal disease, would you expect a call from your doctor? If your son was doing dangerous things, would you hope someone noticed and let you know? How about your church… If there were a crisis in your church that threatens its very existence would you want to know about it? I'm your neighbor. I care. I'll tell you. My ministry with Awana puts me in conversation with many Senior Pastors. For the last several years one thread almost always works its way into the conversation. It goes…
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One Step to Stop Child Trafficking
Human trafficking is a problem that is hard to face. When I think about it, I feel so overwhelmed and incapable of doing anything to help. Lately, the truth and tragedy of child trafficking has been creeping into my awareness through speakers, blogs, etc. Did you know that each year nearly 2 milion children are exploited in the global commercial sex trade (stat from UNICEF via IJM) ? How can we not be talking about this and trying to do something? The question is what can we do? One answer is to sponsor children through organizations like Compassion and World Vision. This did not seem the most direct answer at first to…
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The Glad Game
“Let’s play the glad game!” The golden-haired, azure-eyed child declared to a group of grumpy-faced adults. Her silly phrase got me thinking, do I look for reasons to be glad? Two Fridays ago my husband and I nestled onto the sofa and put in the Disney classic Pollyanna. I prepared myself for a few cheesy lines. I expected the drama-turned-to-joy storyline. But I didn’t anticipate learning a spiritual practice from the 1960 film. If I take an honest inventory of my life, gratitude is often absent. I overlook the good things before me—friendship, food on the table, family, —because I’m focused on what I don’t possess. And as gripe about…
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Pray90X: Praying for Boldness: Part 2
It’s no accident that praying for boldness immediately follows putting on the armor of God. Paul urges the Ephesians: “With every prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit, and to this end be alert, with all perseverance and requests for all the saints. Pray for me also, that I may be given the message when I begin to speak—that I may confidently make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may be able to speak boldly as I ought to speak” (Ephesians 6:18-20).
