Signs there might be something wrong with your children's ministry

If something like this happens in your church, you may want to reassess your approach to children's ministry. This seems like an extreme attempt to avoid going somewhere he didn't like.

Little-known, but often-experienced laws of nature

1. Law of Mechanical Repair - After your hands become coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch and you'll have to use the bathroom.

2. Law of Gravity - Any tool, nut, bolt, or screw, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.

3. Law of Probability - The probability of being watched is directly proportional to the stupidity of your act.

4. Law of Random Numbers - If you dial a wrong number, you never get a busy signal and someone always answers.

5. Law of the Alibi - If you tell the boss you were late for work because you had a flat tire, the very next morning you will have a flat tire.

6. Variation Law - If you change lines (or traffic lanes), the one you were in will always move faster than the one you are in now (works every time).

7. Law of the Bath - When the body is fully immersed in water, the telephone rings.

8. Law of Close Encounters - The probability of meeting someone you know increases dramatically when you are with someone you don't want to be seen with.

9. Law of the Result - When you try to prove to someone that a machine won't work, it will.

10. Law of Biomechanics - The severity of the itch is inversely proportional to the reach.

11. Law of the Theater and Hockey Arena - At any event, the people whose seats are farthest from the aisle arrive last, and they are the ones who will leave their seats several times to go for food, drink, or the bathroom and who leave early before the end of the performance or the game is over.

Those in the aisle seats come early, never move once, have long gangly legs or big bellies, and stay to the bitter end of the performance and beyond. The aisle people also are very surly folk.

12. The Starbucks Law - As soon as you sit down to a cup of hot coffee, your boss will ask you to do something that will last until the coffee is cold.

13. Murphy's Law of Lockers - If there are only two people in a locker room, they will have adjacent lockers.

14. Law of Physical Surfaces - The chances of an open-faced jelly sandwich landing face down on a floor covering are directly correlated to the newness and cost of the carpet/rug.

15. Law of Logical Argument - Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.

16. Brown's Law of Physical Appearance - If the clothes fit, they're ugly.

17. Oliver's Law of Public Speaking - A closed mouth gathers no feet.

18. Wilson's Law of Commercial Marketing Strategy - As soon as you find a product that you really like, they will stop making it.

19. Doctors' Law - If you don't feel well and make an appointment to go to the doctor, by the time you get there you'll feel better. Don't make an appointment and you'll stay sick.

This a great piece of worship satire

Sadly, there is enough truth in it to make it sting: The mark of any great satire.

I'm sure this says something about me

Exactly what it says, I am not sure. But I love this style of music. The older I get the more I realize how much I like the New Wave Music of the late 1970s and the 1980s.

As you think about Michael Vick's release from prison

Remember his victims and his crimes.

I wish I were as graceful

As the guy in the picture. I feel like a juggler with too many balls in the air, and someone just threw in a chainsaw for fun. But that, in so many ways, is the way life is.

God is preparing new things for us, and me, all the time. The co-interim pastor title here in Dundee is the latest new thing, and one that I look forward to. This is a wonderful congregation and I count it as a privilege to help shepherd them through this transitional period. It will probably be a little bumpy, as people process the loss of the Mullens and begin praying, fasting and looking forward to who God will bring to lead this church in the coming decade. But God is faithful, and he will be here with us as we step out on faith like the juggler in the picture. The amazing thing is that he is our safety net when we are pursuing the Kingdom. As I think about this, the lyrics to an old hymn come to mind:

"My Hope is Built on Nothing Less"
by Edward Mote, 1797-1874

1. My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus' name.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

2. When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

3. His oath, His covenant, and blood
Support me in the whelming flood;
When every earthly prop gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

4. When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found,
Clothed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne!
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

That is my prayer during this season of transition. Let our hope be only in the one who can deliver us. Let it not be in our strength, wisdom, or desires. Let it be in the God who loves us.

Celebrating what God has done

Come and see what God has done,
his awesome deeds for humankind! He turned the sea into dry land,
they passed through the waters on foot-
come, let us rejoice in him.

— Psalm 66:5-6

Our church is entering a new phase of life. The founding pastor is leaving and taking a church in Deltona, Florida for reasons that escape me. Not him leaving, but why Florida? That is someplace that God would have to use the modern-day equivalent of a burning bush to make it clear to me that he wanted me to go there. Be that as it may, here we are moving forward and seeing new things.

But during the next few weeks we will have the opportunity to review what God has done in our congregation. We will have the time to offer praise for lives changed, for prayers answered, for ministry calls that have been extended all during Sam and Ann's ministry. It is an opportunity that we need to avail ourselves of. It will be part of the celebration that will accompany the sadness of seeing our only shepherd move on to a new flock. God does wonderful things through different people with different skill sets. Sam has a great pastoral skill set. I trust that the person God has in mind for us has the skill set that we need as we enter the next decade of our church's existence

But as we look forward, we need to take a moment to take in the grandeur of what God has already done. Not that we have arrived, or that we are "all that," but to reassure ourselves that the God who got us here, is with us now, and will be with us as we go forward. The Lord will continue to walk with those who worship Him and follow his commandments. Now is a good time for us to remind ourselves of how he has been faithful as we embark on a new phase of life. We would be wise to heed the command given to Joshua following the death of Moses, the only true leader Israel had ever known. Joshua 1:9 says:

"I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

The Holy Bible : New Revised Standard Version. Nashville : Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989, S. Jos 1:9

The Message makes it a little more emphatic: "Haven’t I commanded you? Strength! Courage! Don’t be timid; don’t get discouraged. God, your God, is with you every step you take.”

Peterson, Eugene H.: The Message : The Bible in Contemporary Language. Colorado Springs, Colo. : NavPress, 2002, S. Jos 1:8-9

Let the song in the clip above play as you reflect on this thought. Then let us share the stories of what God has done for us in our lives, in our church, and what we pray that he will do for us in the future.

Contest

Who will be the 20,000th visitor to the blog? We are perched on the verge of the milestone. There is no prize, other than bragging rights. Hurry and you can be the winner.

Being light in the darkness

This has been a week where the Lord has been challenging me on this very issue. How can I be light in darkness? There is so much darkness in the world, and it swirls around us unnoticed most of the time. But occasionally it rears its ugly head and announces its presence, and we are forced to deal with it.

This past weekend my neighbor's son died from a drug overdose. He was a young man with problems, but he seemed, at least from my perspective, to be making some headway in dealing with them. But the darkness that surrounded him eventually consumed him, and his grief-stricken family is left wondering what they could have done to prevent this.

Deb and I have spent some time with the family since his death, and it is hard. Drug abuse is so pervasive in our society that it is sickening. Prescription drugs, street drugs, and home-grown and home-made drugs are readily available and are evidently very affordable. I have to confess that I am at a loss as to what to do about this scourge.

Pray for me as I seek God's face on how I can be light in this darkness. What does my candle look like in my neighborhood. With this death, I have heard from others about their neighbors who have children hooked on drugs and bouncing in and out of rehab. I always knew it was there, but it has really hit home for me. We (I) need to be a light to show the love and truth of Christ in this pervasive darkness. I'm just not sure what God is asking me to do. I appreciate your prayers.

Happy Independence Day

One of my favorites from way back in the day.

A Historic moment for the Church of the Nazarene

Eugenio Duarte, regional director for Africa and a native of the island of Brava in the Cape Verde Islands, became the first citizen from outside the USA/Canada Region to be elected general superintendent on Tuesday. He is the first General Superintendent who is not from North America.

His acceptance speech is in the clip below:



This is a significant moment in the life of our church. Praise be to God.

Want to keep up with the news at General Assembly 2009?

That is the TWUB from the unofficial site.