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Trusting God in the Bizarre
I have tongue cancer. Bizarre, right? I’m not male, nor do I engage in the particularly bad combination of both smoking and drinking, which are the big markers for this nasty invasion. In two weeks I am scheduled for surgery to remove the cancer by cutting out a big chunk of my tongue—which is a particular challenge and sadness for a professional speaker. One of the things I have discovered is that, even without any drugs, the weight of this diagnosis and the upcoming difficult surgery and recovery has consumed a lot of my mental and emotional energy. Everything in my life has taken a back seat to this crisis.…
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Becoming Entangled in Sin
Have you ever wondered how is it that we who have the Spirit of the Living God inside of us can become so easily entangled in sin? I believe that it is easy because it is as simple as opening our mouths to speak.
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Civil Discourse: Church Flavor
As iron sharpens iron, so a person sharpens his friend. Prov. 27:17 (NET) This has been an interesting year. I have frequently found myself in conversations where I disagreed with members of my church family. To my surprise and theirs, even when presented with the same information, we have come to different conclusions. I believe the ingredients to civil discourse with your church family are similar to the ones that foster civility in your family. What are the main ingredients that enable you to have a polite discussion with your family on a controversial subject? Last month, I wrote about how to stir up a batch of Civil Discourse–Family Flavor. Mix equal…
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Bottling Civility: Engaging Politely about Controversial Topics
"Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters! Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger.” James 1:19 How can we talk about controversial topics in a meaningful way? I’ve witnessed or been in on some contentious political discussions in the last several months. Some on Facebook have included profanity and name calling—and this among believers. On the other hand, I have the privilege of participating with a small, but diverse group of believers in some mind-expanding discussions on potentially explosive topics. Our conversations have been exhilarating—and humbling. The group is a multi-generational gathering of men and women, multi-racial, probably from multiple political parties. We’ve had…
