Have you ever watched American Idol? There is always that part in the beginning when they have the auditions, and there is that awful singer who really believes they can sing, but we all know that they can’t. It feels as if I’m watching a train wreck. I even get to the point where I’m embarrassed for them. Every time I see someone like that I ask myself the same question, “Do they not have anyone who loves them enough to tell them the truth?”
Maybe it’s time for all of us to take a deep breath and find something to laugh at in life. Surround yourself with people you love or people you care about and be intentional about taking in the laughter.
I think there are moments in life when good is no longer good enough. It is a moment when the status quo, no matter how good, is no longer acceptable. I recently had one of those moments when I had to decide the future of our children’s moment in worship.
Last week I took part in celebrating the life of an incredible man. He was the kind of guy who oozed fun and, at the same time, could have the best conversations with you. Pat Kiefer was one of the most amazing men I’ve ever met.
February 15th will mark thirteen years of marriage. When Karen and I got married, we were twenty-two years old and the world was at our fingertips. She had recently started a new job working as a child-care professional, and I was destined to make millions in the financial services field. We had a quaint cape-cod in north Dayton and ginormous plans.
Do you ever look at your family and wish you were better? You know what I mean. Maybe you wish you didn’t work so much. Maybe you wish that you ate more dinners at home, or ate a more well-balanced diet. Maybe you wish you did more educational family activities. I think that if all of us had a moment of truth, we could find something that we wish we did better for our family.
I hate preaching tough messages. I really wish I could preach sunshine and lollipops all the time. I don’t like preparing for tough messages; it always puts me in a weird mood.
I’ve recently spent a day away with the board from Centerville United Methodist Church (where I pastor). During this day, we revisited how God used the church in 2015, and then we refocused what we were called to do in 2016.
This past weekend I continued what is arguably the most controversial sermon series I’ve ever preached. While the first week of the series was sort of a “set-up” for what was to come, during the second one we finally dove into some issues that aren’t always easy to talk about. The tension in the room was palpable.
For the past two weeks the church has sounded more like a construction yard than a sanctuary. We’ve been pulling up carpet, scraping glue, and moving tile. We are in the midst of a facelift that will remove all the carpet in the welcome center and replace it with beautiful large tile.