I taught math to teenagers for thirty-five years. I enjoyed my teaching career. My students left me with a bald head and a number of valuable lessons. Among them: Kids may be reluctant to believe what you say, but they’re always ready to believe what you do. It’s a life principle; talk is cheap. Words matter little […]
Continue readingAuthor: Rich
Honor
Happy Monday! Something behind the scenes brings us today’s word-of-the-week… HONOR Perhaps you’re aware of a football game that was played yesterday. Something like 180 million people watched the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers play Super Bowl 50. Whether you measure in dollars spent of chicken wings consumed, the Super Bowl is a unique American spectacle. Nearly lost in […]
Continue readingWhen Equal Isn’t Quite Equal
I’ve been in a courtroom a couple of times in the past few weeks. Observing a friend’s partial journey through the system, and surveying other cases while we waited, got me thinking about fairness and justice. It’s interesting to watch judge and attorneys work together to apply the law equally while accounting for each person’s […]
Continue readingI Wish We Could Go Back…
Can you imagine Jesus pointing us back to “the good old days”? I can’t. The idea of striving for a return to an imaginary past in which everything was somehow better doesn’t fit at all with following Jesus as I understand Him. Jesus is about moving forward, about taking risks. He’s about an unfolding story of […]
Continue readingOn Second Thought, I Wish I Would Have Said…
“What’s your advice for us, for people our age?” They were mostly twenty-somethings. I told them about the FREEDOM TOUR and the kids at the HOME OF HOPE. The theme was mission and community, the notion of seeing a need and doing something to meet it. Do what you can, where you are, with what you have. […]
Continue readingHow
Happy Monday! Two ways of framing a question brings us today’s word-of-the-week… HOW “How can someone do that to another human being?” Good question. When we see torture, slavery, child sexual abuse, it’s easy to wonder what special sort of evil invades the heart of a person who perpetrates such vile, unimaginable acts. Good question, but not […]
Continue readingNot My Job
It’s not my job to manage or control another person. It’s my place to listen, patiently, and try to understand. It’s not my job to tell another person what to do. It’s my place to hear his dilemma and help him clarify the options. It’s not my job to be certain what I’d do if I […]
Continue readingGuilt And The Least Of These
Ever felt a little guilty for “not doing enough”? Ever been bonked with a “you’re going to hell” scripture aimed at pushing you to to sign up or open your wallet? Ever felt like you’re supposed to eradicate poverty, solve racism, eliminate human trafficking, or at least feel bad about not trying? Ever wonder if you’re […]
Continue readingUncertainty
Happy Monday! I’m absolutely sure about today’s word-of-the-week… UNCERTAINTY We need to embrace uncertainty. We want our answers in neat little packages. Most of the time, truth can’t be reduced to a 10-word slogan. Real solutions can’t be captured in 30-second sound bites. As followers of Jesus, of course we believe in certain absolute truths. We should […]
Continue readingDon’t Fall For Fear’s Magic Act
Fear behaves like an accomplished magician. Ever notice fear’s remarkable slight-of-hand? The big flourish, the loud bang divert our attention from the real action. LOOK OVER HERE! where nothing’s really happening, and while we’re distracted fear picks our pockets. Fear desperately seeks to engage us with BREAKING NEWS that likely isn’t breaking and ON-SCENE REPORTERS who probably […]
Continue readingThe Day After MLK
Yesterday we celebrated the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. There’s a risk in setting aside a special day to commemorate Dr. King’s life. We may invest ourselves in a one-day avalanche of feel-good quotes and Facebook memes, then return to business as usual. That would be a shame, because it’s clear that Dr. […]
Continue readingEquity
Happy Monday! In memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. let’s consider today’s word-of-the-week… EQUITY Dr. King spoke about justice, which is often equated with equality. Perhaps we should focus more on the notion of equity. I’m not sure how we generate equality in a diverse culture. Different abilities and passions. Different nations, backgrounds, traditions. City folks or rural folks. Even […]
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