"I have no one else like him, who will show genuine concern for your welfare." -- Philippians 2:20 There was a time I thought about going into politics.  But then I realized how often I would have to shower to try and keep the corruption at bay. I believe good people do go into politics.  I also believe it's hard for good people to go into politics and stay good people.  Most people enter public service with a desire to serve.  After a while, the temptation to serve one's own interests over the interests of others begins to arise.  At some point, it becomes more than a temptation; it becomes a way of life. But let's not be so hard on politicians.  The same thing happens to school teachers, accountants, counselors, construction workers, and pastors. What causes this?  Our sinful nature. Our sinful nature is not inclined towards sacrifice and…

I'm surprised that more first-time parents don't get divorced over the choice of their newborn's name. When my wife was pregnant with our first child, we did the prerequisite purchasing of baby name books.  "The Multicultural Guide to Naming Your Baby" was one of my personal favorites.  We fairly quickly settled on a girl's name; but since we didn't know the gender of our baby, we went through the process of trying to choose a male name.  Tonya used one color of highlighter and I had another.  We would go through the book and highlight our favorite names. If the other person didn't like it, we would make a check next to it.  We each had veto power. Since I love baseball, I tended to pick names that I thought would set up our potential new son for baseball success.  Tonya veteod "Juan Hensley" although I thought it sounded like…

When many people speak of unity, they are actually referring to uniformity.  This can be true on a team, in a relationship, at church, or in the workforce. I cut my religious teeth in a fellowship of churches that began as a unity movement.  The idea was simple: let's drop denominational distinctions and just be Christians.  Unity was to be found in Jesus Christ.  "No creed but Christ" was one of the rallying cries. After a while, the urge to have uniformity trumped the desire to be united. What is the difference? Unity is a relational bond that is generated by the Spirit.  It binds hearts together around a common Lord and a common purpose.  It doesn't eliminate differences but allows us to navigate them with grace.  Unity that is Spirit-generated and Spirit-driven will lead us to look for mutual interests, but all the while submitting ourselves to a higher cause.…

Paul issues this challenge to every Christ-follower: "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others." -- Philippians 2:4-5 Not all ambition is bad.  There is nothing wrong with aspiring to be a better husband or father.  It's perfectly fine to desire to memorize more of God's Word or to spend additional time in prayer.  Ambition, when properly directed, is a good thing. But when it's not a God thing, it's not a good thing. In other words, whenever we pursue something for our own glory or recognition, we are robbing God of what is rightfully due him.  This is why Paul speaks so directly -- do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.  There is never an appropriate time to exalt ourselves over God. Whenever…

I like to joke with people about where I was born and raised.   My usual line is, "Peoria is a good place to be from" -- with the emphasis on "from."  But all joking aside, I'm very grateful for where I was raised.  And to be fair, I was born in Peoria but actually raised in East Peoria -- emphasis on East. Growing up in Central Illinois grounded me with Midwestern sensibilities.  It certainly shaped my sense of community, values, and perspective. This lesson came home to me when I graduated high school and headed south to Tennessee for college. In East Peoria, as in much of the Midwest, girls were friendly but too friendly (At least back in the 1980's).  There was a certain aloofness between boys and girls that helped you measure the romantic meter.  In other words, it wasn't common for a girl to run up…