Church

As we approach Easter Weekend, I'm passing along a great article from Thom Rainer about how we (regular churchgoers) can serve the new people who will attend. These are easy things that anyone can do -- but they are important to creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere. Here's to a great Easter! P.S. If you live in South Denver and are looking for a place to worship on Easter, Mountainview has four services to choose from: Saturday at 5:30, Sunday at 8:00, 9:30, and 11:00. Easter. It will be one of the highest attended days of the year for your church. It may be the highest. There will be some people you don’t know. Some of them are guests. Others are members who attend infrequently. You have an opportunity to make a gospel impression on these people with a few simple acts. Indeed, you have an opportunity to make an…

Have you ever noticed there are a variety of definitions of what it means to be successful? Miriam-Webster dictionary defines success this way: “The fact of getting or achieving wealth, respect, or fame.” By that definition, Chase Daniel (Eagles), Josh McCown (Browns), Marcus Mariota (Titans), Blake Bortles (Jaguars) are successful NFL quarterbacks. All will earn over $5 million 2016. By that same definition, Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian are also successful. Politicians make up their own definitions as well. Only in politics can a candidate finish third or fourth in a primary and claim success. How would you define success? Since I believe you to be reasonable people, you would probably have a reasonable definition. Success might be reaching your goals or meeting expectations. Success might be having a healthy and happy family. Success might be learning from your mistakes and maturing. Most likely, your definition of success would include achieving some…

Recently I had the opportunity to travel to Orlando to watch our oldest daughter play softball for Bethel University. The trip was made possible in large part because of the generosity of Camp Gilead in Polk City, Florida. Camp Gilead has been serving the church since the 1930's and offers free housing to pastors when space allows. I arrived after 10 pm on a Sunday night and one of the staff members met me at the lodge and showed me to my room. A Youth For Christ group from Canada was also there, in addition to several smaller groups. Just behind the lodge is a large deck that overlooks a lake. Early mornings and late evenings were very peaceful and pretty. The room itself is well-suited for a private retreat (no television or WiFi). It's comfortable, clean, and really quiet (the YFC kids were staying at the opposite end of…

World War 2 officially ended on September 2, 1945 when the Japanese surrendered to the Allied forces on board the USS Missouri. Unfortunately, not everyone got the memo. On March 10, 1974, Lieutenant Hiroo Onada became the last WW2 Japanese soldier to surrender. He had been left on one of the Philippine islands in December of 1944. For 39 years he kept up the fight – killing at least 30 Filipino nationals. All efforts to convince him to surrender or to capture him had failed -- including broadcasting messages over loudspeakers and dropping leaflets from the air. When he finally handed over his rusted sword to President Marcos, he described his 29 yrs of unnecessary fighting as “complete unhappiness.” Before we laugh too much at Lt. Onada, are we much different? Have you ever fought a battle that’s already been won? For example, I believe all of us were created…

Intentions are powerful. Whether good or bad, intentions reflect a sense of purpose and speak to motive. By its very nature, something that happens intentionally did not happen accidentally. If I intentionally drop my coffee (which, trust me, I would never do), that is different than if someone accidentally knocks it out of my hand. The difference lies in motive. One person wanted to knock my coffee out of hand -- for whatever crazy reason! That's why trying to understand someone's intent helps us understand what happened. Intent speaks to why -- why did that person knock the coffee out of my hand? Why did my child act out? Why did that employee miss a deadline? Why did the coach run that particular play instead of another one? Intentions can also be tricky. Unless someone tells you their intention, you're left to piece it together from their actions. That's not impossible, but it…