Sermon Leftovers

I love Staples. (the store, not the small metal fastening device) I love it because I have an unhealthy obsession with personal organization tools. I could stand in the "planner section" of Staples for hours and browse the different notebooks, forms, tools, etc. which are available. It's a sickness. I've read all the important books about planning. I've been a fan of Stephen Covey since I was a child. I had a Franklin planner before Franklin and Covey merged. I know GTD inside and out. And I know that this paragraph makes 0 sense to most people. I apologize. I love planning. James 4:13-15 says, Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”  Wh

Income inequality has become a talking point for political campaigns in both parties. At times it feels that this is the one of the most important issues facing our country (and perhaps the world). The more I study Proverbs, the more I'm convinced there is nothing wrong with being rich and nothing shameful about being poor. So here are a couple extra thoughts on income inequality. 1. A huge gap exists between the top and bottom earners in America. This is a fact. But I fear  that painting this disparity as the main problem creates an unsolvable dilemma unless we are going to pursue "income equality" which, if you really think about it, is a practical impossibility. 2. Jealousy is never good policy. Inspiring people to action by pointing out that others have more than them will never create the type of change necessary to truly address poverty issues in our country. Instead of focusing on the size of the income gap and asking how we can reduce that gap, I would suggest t

That Phil Robertson sure can cause a stir. I have a couple thoughts on the whole thing, so let me briefly weigh in. First, I think everyone should take a breath. My guess is that the Robertsons arent' too concerned about all this hullaballoo, and so maybe no one else should be either. Second, I think we should recognize that this is NOT a first ammendment issue. Phil's right to free spreech hasn't been impinged by congress. If A&E wants to censor the content of their network, that's their call. (now, if comments like Phil's are some day deemed as official "hate speech" and he is silenced by government action; that will be a first ammendment issue) Third, I support A&E's right to not do business with Phil Robertson based on their religious convictions. Fourth, I expect to see consistency from organizations like GLAAD (which have spoken very strongly into this issue). I hope that they also will support the right of any American busines

You may or may not be aware that coffee has a very quick “mold-creation” rate.  If you leave a cup of coffee sitting out for too long, it will quickly begin to develop mold spores.  In fact, I would imagine, that in just a week or two a mug of coffee would develop a bog-like surface if left alone. Therefore. I’m placing a full mug of coffee in a secluded room where it will be undisturbed.  I’m also leaving instructions in my will that in 100 years, my grandchildren are to go into that room and document the lives of all the mold creatures that have come to life. That’ll show those silly creationists.

In recent days the evangelical internet (now there is a silly concept) has been in an uproar about the issue of plagiarism. First, Mark Driscoll came under fire for apparently using massive amounts of other people's material without properly citing them. In some cases his books allegedly borrowed virtually word for word from other sources. I've not investigated these claims. If they are true, it's wrong . More recently, a young female blogger reposted the writing by Rachel Held Evans , claiming it as her own. It's pretty clear that she copied and pasted with minimal changes. To her credit, the young lady apologized after being called out for her indiscretion. Plagiarism is bad. I get it. It's theft. It's false. It's selfish. At times, it negatively impacts the ability of some to earn their livelihood. I've heard preachers use my words and my thoughts as if they were their own. It made me angry. I had worked hard to formulate those thoughts. I h

Colossians 1:10 pops up in the middle of Paul’s prayer for the Colossians.  In this mid-thought verse he says, "so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God."  The easy observation from this verse is that Paul identifies three specific results of walking rightly: our lives will be pleasing to God our lives will be full of the fruit of good works we will be increasing in our knowledge of God (both relational knowledge and factual knowledge) But can you take a break for a minute and think about the idea of walking?  This isn’t the first time the idea of our life as a walk is discussed in the Bible.  It’s not even the only time Paul uses the analogy.  "Walking" is a common and helpful illustration of the Christian life. Proverbs talks about our walk a lot. Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in t