Undercover Pastor
Christmas Consumerism Overload
We try hard not to give our kids a lot of stuff at Christmastime. We let them get stuff they need like shoes, backpacks, and jackets. They also get a few fun things. It’s not extravagent, but somehow there’s always enough to blow the kids’ circuit breakers. And I guess my circuit breaker blew this year too. … Continue reading
A beautiful Spurgeon devotion about God’s amazing love.
From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook” The Reason for Singing September 19 The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his he, he will joy over thee with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17) What a word is this! Jehovah God in … Continue reading
Charles Spurgeon on Waiting for God.
From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook” A Strong Heart September 6 “Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord. (Psalm 27:14)” Wait! Wait! Let your waiting be on the Lord! He is worth waiting for. He never disappoints the waiting soul. While waiting keep … Continue reading
Bible Detox for Preachers
One of my sabbatical goals was to read through the New Testament this summer – the church leadership called it “scriptural immersion.” I was surprised by my resistance to doing it. My significant burnout was one factor, but that wasn’t the whole story. When I started seminary, I read an article that talked about the danger … Continue reading
Spurgeon on the challenges of ministry
This devotion was particularly timely as I contemplate the road out of burnout: From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook” Choice Men (women too, -ed.) August 27 I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. (Isaiah 48:10) This has long been the motto fixed before our eye upon the wall of our bedroom, and in many … Continue reading
What does a 20-year-old Twinkie look like?
Many of us expected the Twinkie to survive 20 years with few ill effects. Apparently there are natural ingredients in a Twinkie after all! Continue reading
The Church’s Mission from Romans 10
Romans 10:8-15 “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with … Continue reading
Love the Church (from Charles Spurgeon)
My friend Eric gave me a copy of C. H. Spurgeon’s Faith’s Checkbook, and I’ve been using it as a daily devotion lately. Today I happened to peek ahead at the July 10th entry and thought this was worth sharing. (It’s in the public domain so copy away!) You can find more at www.eternallifeministries.org/fcb_toc.htm In … Continue reading
Bacon Salt
Sorry vegetarians, I have to agree with J&D’s – “Everything should taste like bacon.”
Extravagant Love for Crazy Kids
My kids are crazy. Really, they are. Apparently, they’ve been domesticated to the point that they no longer have any kind of survival instincts. We had the opportunity to spend a couple of days in Santa Cruz with Eleanor’s family, and someone in the group wanted to check out the Santa Cruz Boardwalk. After getting … Continue reading
Reindeer Roadkill
Saw this on a walk yesterday. Poor Rudolph!
Roadside Memorials – Filling in for the Church?
Are the currently-popular roadside memorials a sign that the world has rejected the church or an opportunity to reach out to meet people’s needs? Continue reading
Morning Prayer for Night People
I have to admit it. For years, people have talked to me about the importance of morning prayer, of starting out each day by dedicating it – and myself – to God. I have tried a bunch of times to do it too. But I find it hard. Here’s the deal. I’m not a morning … Continue reading
Public Restrooms and the Church
On a recent coffee run I saw a sign at a local restaurant located near a major freeway.  “No Public Restroom (Customers Only),” it read. The sign was posted on the front door where everyone would see it – in fact, that and the hours were the only things posted there. It reminded me of … Continue reading
Denny’s Big Breakfast Gamble and the Church
I saw the Super Bowl ad for a free grand slam breakfast at Denny’s on February 3rd. And I was planning to take the family. Only each Denny’s we visited had a line around the block. Apparently, Denny’s served 2 million breakfasts that morning. They estimate that they got $50 million worth of free (positive) publicity … Continue reading
Resiliency
I’m about halfway through a three-week vacation from my position as pastor of Trinity Presbyterian Church. After 5-1/2 years as pastor with no more than two weeks off at any one time (except to have kids!), I started to feel tired, and it was taking more and more to recover. I later learned that psychologists … Continue reading
My Post-Christian Son
I’ve noticed a big difference between the assumptions my 6-year-old son makes and the ones I made at the same age. I used to assume that everyone went to some kind of church. Johnny is surprised to learn that someone goes to church. He realizes that he lives in a post-Christian world. I hadn’t realized … Continue reading
163440 Bible Content Exams served
The annual Presbyterian Church “Bible Content Exam” happened again today. And as of this evening, my web tool for studying the Bible – mainly for people taking that test, has been used 163440 times! I never would have imagined that 9 years ago. It’s very cool that I get to help so many people learn … Continue reading
Come, Labor On!
I have the week off from church so we were planning to worship at another church as we generally do. but t his week, Lydia is sick with some kind of stomach flu. Rather than leave Eleanor and Lydia at home alone, we decided to have “home church” today. I put on some recorded hymns … Continue reading
Speaking of habits…
Looks like I kicked the blogging habit. Let’s see if I can get back into it. I’ve been learning a whole lot in the last few months. More soon, God willing!