The Church as a Contrast Society (Part 1)

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The Church as a Contrast Society (Part 1: Contrasting Standards) Some people claim that there is a Chinese curse that says: “May you live in interesting times” I can’t actually find an actual Chinese curse that matches that, but I get the meaning… and it’s true — We live in interesting times. Over the past … Read more

Mercy Triumphs Over Judgment

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It has been a few years now, but I was the co-producer of the series of contemporary Christian concerts in Hawaii. (By “co-producer” I mean I did a lot of grunt work including backstage security and picking up artists at the airport in a beat-up old church van with no air conditioner… in Honolulu.) Actually, … Read more

Making the days count

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img_clock-calendar Are you counting the days or making the days count?

When I was a student there were some classes (and some teachers) I found very boring. I would sit in class totally tuned out to what was being said, as I stared at the clock anxious for the class to end. I checked off the number of days remaining in the semester, simply counting the days.

At the end of the semester, however, there came the exam… those who had made the days count, instead of just counting the days, usually did better on the final exam.

If we are not alert and aware, there can be moments in our leadership when we find ourselves counting the days instead of making the days count. Each of us has been given exactly the same amount of time — as the song Seasons of Love from the Broadway musical RENT says — five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes each year. That’s what we have each calendar year. Let’s make them count!

Juggling chainsaws

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I think everyone in ministry has weeks with so many things going on you feel like you are juggling chainsaws. You’re trying keep everything balanced without having a major accident, and every item on your list is Priority #1. It is an impossible situation, of course, but one we find ourselves facing on a regular … Read more

Man Up!

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I studied and planned my sermon this weekend and it was one of those that SORT OF came together… but not really. It was an expository sermon on the period following the resurrection, so I was dealing with Luke-Acts as a continuing narrative. It was pretty cohesive and well-organized, if I do say so, but … Read more

Leadership or Management?

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Leadership and management are not the same. Unfortunately pastoral ministry usually requires both skill sets. Not all pastors can pull it off. Leadership — and I’m not going to throw in formal definitions — might be described as moving people from where they are to where they need to be, whether they know it or … Read more

The Christian Bandwagon Effect

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“…the bandwagon effect refers to people doing certain things because other people are doing them, regardless of their own beliefs, which they may ignore or override.” (Wikipedia) You see it all over Facebook. Somebody posts something — a rumor, speculation, misinterpretation of fact — and it spreads like wildfire across the friends of friends of … Read more

Hawaii SB69

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My heart breaks for this state I love. The people of Hawaii are so wonderful that they deserve so much more than the politics of paternalism. Being under single party control for so many decades, with an increasing dependence upon the government from cradle-to-grave has rendered the majority of the people of Hawaii incapable of … Read more

Milestone Day

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Yesterday at REUNION we had a Milestone Day. There was a confluence of events — lots of things happening at once — and we decided to just make it a day of celebration. It was beyond wonderful. We began with a time of worship; that is a huge priority for us. One of my favorite … Read more