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The ugliness of human trafficking
Our subject matter in our church today was heavy. We had a couple come in and talk to us about human trafficking. I then see this article posted tonight. The U.S. is in the top 5 in human trafficking. We probably have more people bound in sexual slavery in the U.S. today than we had numbers of slaves at the…
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Personal rights and egos
In a COLLEGE basketball game last night, Oklahoma State powerhouse Marcus Smart when after a fan. I thought it was a NBA story at first. Smart is a great player. It’s a frustrating time because Oklahoma State is in a losing streak at the wrong time. (For the record, I’m okay with that, since I’m a Jayhawks fan.) Emotions were…
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Thoughts on the opening ceremony
A couple of quick thoughts on the opening ceremony of the Olympics: 1. The Russian national anthem (besides being a catchy tune) makes me want to watch “Hunt for Red October” again. 2. Technomusic is perfect for Gitmo prisoners. 3. Putin looks like he had some “work” done. But tasteful. 4. Jamaica is back!
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The Pharisee in all of us
The incredible danger in my life is the lurking of the Pharisee. Reading the Common English Bible helps me identify that ugliness a bit better. Jesus told this parable to certain people who had convinced themselves that they were righteous and who looked on everyone else with disgust… (Luke 18:9) I am tempted in this way. It’s that attitude I…
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Ham and Nye
I totally missed the “big debate” tonight but was watching my Twitter feed for a bit. Clearly, no one was going to be swayed one way or the other, and my Twitter feed sure bore that out. I was in a meeting with my Kiwanis club talking about eliminating tetanus on the planet. It’s called the ELIMINATE PROJECT. So, perhaps…
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The horrors of addiction
The tragic news came of the death of Philip Seymour Hoffman. He was an actor I thoroughly enjoyed watching. I thought he was incredible in Capote. It is a reminder of the depths of addiction. As one friend noted on Facebook, it is a reminder of Genesis 4:7. “…sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must…
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When Christianity in America will finally grow up
We will realize the true power of the gospel in our lives when we, as Americans, give up our “right” to “win” and be willing to look like we’ve lost. Right now, all we want to is “win.” Win an argument. Win a court case. Win public opinion. When we’re willing to lose… THAT is when we find a better path…
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Martin Luther King, Jr. the Prophet
“Unfortunately, King is known more today as a poetic patron saint of racial harmony than a provocative prophet of social justice, someone who by the end of his life had managed to get on just about everyone’s last nerve.” (Edward Gilbreath, Birmingham Revolution: Martin Luther King Jr.’s Epic Challenge to the Church)
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Rebelling against the plaid
When I think of how church is “done” today, all I can see is plaid. The fad is fading (one can hope) but it comes from watching some video coming from some “cutting edge” pastors … excuse me… leaders conference… and 99 percent of the people on the video who were on stage or being interviewed or were doing the interviewing wore plaid in…
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Refusing the ADHD of our culture
We are entirely too distracted in our world. We have too many things coming at us and it makes it incredibly difficult to… SQUIRREL!!! See what I mean? I just can’t seem… to… focus… While we certainly take into account how we are made (as to biological realities), another thing we need to emphasize all over again is this: we have abilities TO…
Category: Culture
