Church

In my last post I wrote about how professional teams balance two needs: the need to win and the need to develop talent. The people of God must realize that we are involved in much more than a game.  In fact, we are involved in much more than life itself.  We are involved in helping write eternity.  That's not being dramatic; it's being truthful. Professional teams will invest heavily in coaches, facilities, and more in order to develop young talent.  A guy like Aaron Rodgers gets to watch Brett Favre for a few years before becoming a superstar in his own right.  Baseball players work their way up through the minor leagues. Does your church have a system for developing the young talent in its midst?  All too often, the answer is no. As the church-going population continues to attend a smaller percentage of the churches (mega churches account for…

The recent kabuki dance between the Broncos, Peyton Manning, and Tim Tebow was interesting to watch.  Ultimately, the Broncos decided that a 36-year-old Peyton Manning put them in a better position to win than the younger Tebow did. In professional sports, there are two competing needs: to win and to develop talent.  If you can do both at the same time, all the better.  If not, a team must decide which they will give up in order to pursue the other.  In other words, they may decide to into a rebuilding phase, recognizing that it may mean fewer wins for a season with the hope of more wins in the future. What about in the kingdom of God? First, we must define what a "win" looks like.  In my mind, a kingdom win is when an increasing number of people are finding a relationship with Jesus. If that is what…

Lou Holtz once said, "It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it." There are times when life is downright heavy.  We watch those we love battle a disease that withers them away and wears us down.  The concern parents feel for their children can be all-consuming.  The baggage we may carry from a bad decision takes the spring from our step. When life is heavy, we need hope -- not wishful thinking.  We need an assurance that everything will work out, perhaps not the way we would like it, but in the most beneficial way.  Hope in better things is what allows us to pick up and carry on. Hope is what Jesus offers: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and…

Last weekend, my communion meditation talked about things that have been discovered by accident.  The list includes: LSD Corn flakes Penicillin Microwave ovens Silly Putty Post-it Notes Play-Doh Viagra The Slinky And there are others.  It's a testament to the creativity of God and human ingenuity that many of the technological breakthroughs we enjoy were the unintended consequences of someone's tinkering around.  In a sense, they were just accidents. That may work when it comes to biology, but it's not the best way to discover your eternal purpose.  Few people answer the question "Why am I here?" by accident.  It's not they set out to find the best BBQ sauce and end up discovering the meaning of life (though, I have to admit, a good dry rub adds meaning to life). Some wait for their purpose to fall into their lap.  Others act like it all depends on them. Neither…

Yesterday's post about Max Lucado made me think of other books that influenced my thinking and behavior as a young believer.  I'll share the list below.  Some may not mean anything to you; it's likely you may not have heard of a few of the authors.  That's probably more indicative of my experience than your's.  These were the books I needed to read. So ... here it goes (in no particular order): I Just Want to be a Christian by Rubel Shelly Discipleship: The Multiplying Ministry by Milton Jones Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis Power for Living by Jamie Buckingham The Cruciform Church by Leonard Allen The Worldly Church by Leonard Allen The Master Plan of Evangelism by Robert Coleman How about you?  What were the books that influenced your faith development? ---------------------- If you've never seen the movie about C.S. Lewis, I'd recommend it.…