broken

blog, election

Post-election prayer

The post-election reality is here: Donald Trump won the election for President over Hillary Clinton. I have friends who voted for both candidates. Looking at my Facebook and Twitter feeds, it is clear that many are troubled by the divided nature of this political season and the results of the election. What shall we do?

This is a time for prayer. What shall we pray for?

Four years ago, I posted this to Facebook after the last presidential election:

No matter if your candidate won or lost last night, remember that what makes this nation great should not be about the loudest political rancor. What makes our nation great is our history of shared resolve to advance the common good.

May you pray this post-election prayer: Continue Reading…

Church Leadership

Pastoral confession: I’m not okay

“Pastor Appreciation Month” is October and there is something you need to know about your pastoral leader.

There is a clearly defined point in every pastor’s ministry that they find themselves in a deep hole. It is a deep hole that is created in the soul which comes from emptying yourself. You serve, preach, visit, do the hard work of transformation, night meetings, early breakfasts with church members, care for others, care for your family, and you usually have nothing left for yourself.

Enter the void.

Megachurch Pastor Pete Wilson of Crosspoint Church in Nashville, TN announced that he was leaving the church he founded. After 14 years and 7,000 people attending each weekend, Wilson shocked his congregation with his departure. As many pastors struggle to attendance and attraction, what would lead a successful pastor to step aside? He said:

9/11

Three September 11 messages in church

As we remember September 11, 2001 in our culture, church goers will look to churches and pastors this weekend. Speaking about September 11 in church, a sermon, or prayer will be needed.

With the 14th anniversary of September 11, 2001 here, many Americans are sorting through their minds and hearts. How have I changed from 14 years ago? What do I feel when I think of September 11, 2001? Where was I on that fateful day? Why am I still sad? Where can our country go from here?

As we reflect and look back, we have three main messages to the attacks on September 11, 2001:

Church Leadership

Robert Griffin III, the Redskins, and dying churches

It was awful. It was embarrassing. I couldn’t watch it anymore.

My team, the Washington Redskins had started a good fight against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night football. The Redskins came out strong and scored 14 points quickly. My team was looking like they were a sure win to continue into the NFL playoffs with strong momentum. I was hopefully that my Redskins were going to taste a Super Bowl after 20 years.

And then, a Redskins fans greatest fear came to reality.

Robert Griffin III our star rookie quarterback, who was not 100% healthy, sustained hit after hit and injury after injury. Mean while, the Seahawks put together a multi-quarter drive to put points on the score board. As it happened, RG3, became weaker and weaker. His passes were ineffective and his signature running game was just a limb jog to the sideline.

Ugh. It was like watching a train wreck slowly.

“Is anyone going to do anything about RG3!?!” I yelled at the TV.

Passes were misfired, plays were broken up, and interceptions occurred. The play-maker for the Redskins was hurt and no one seemed to do anything about it. Finally, the game was lost.

Immediately, fingers start to point as to who was responsible for RG3’s unhealthy play. It was the coach. It was RG3. It was the team doctor. The list went on. It seems that the team leadership was simply concerned about winning and not about the long term health of the quarterback

How could this happen?

Israel Trip

Israel Day 1: The Travel

I started on my trip to Israel on Sunday night, which for a time, it was uncertain that I would even get to Israel. If you have not read about the nature of my Israel trip, please read here.

At Albany Airport, there was mass confusion concerning the flights that were going to Newark, NJ. One flight was the 11:00 AM flight and the other was my flight at 5:50 PM. Both flights were showing delayed on the board but the gate agent couldn’t give a forward answer why there was a delay. Long story short, my flight was delayed an hour but that wasn’t a big deal to me as I had a 3 hour lay over.

I arrived in Newark without any problems. Newark is a busy and crowded airport so I headed to the United club with a free pass I acquired. After relaxing for a bit, I started to my gate. Amazingly, after going through Albany security, we had to go through gate security. Our passports were checked and our bags searched. Then, we all had to again go to the gate agent to have our passport looked at again. We loaded plane and started our journey.

Burnout

A Broken Church Sign

I was driving to Albany to do a hospital visit when I saw this sign, which caused me to pause and think about the message:

It reads, “Sign Broken… We are not”

I started to think about how “cute” it was for a church to put that up instead of their broken sign, but then I thought about how the sign’s message may not be ccurate. Henri Nouwen was know for consistently stating that we are “broken” people.

If this church in the picture wants to draw people in, is this the right message about our brokenness? Does it give an air of perfectionism? Continue Reading…

Post-election prayer

Pastoral confession: I’m not okay

Three September 11 messages in church

Robert Griffin III, the Redskins, and dying churches

Israel Day 1: The Travel

A Broken Church Sign

On Facebook