Free to Live Your Fullest

So many people live trapped in the past. They live weighed down never able to live at their fullest.

They carry hurts from past relationships.

They live defeated because of past failures.

They carry guilt and sometimes shame.

They live fearful that the past will repeat.

Sometimes they go to church to find answers and way too often are told they’re unworthy and God is angry.

And it leaves them just trying to survive with their dreams crushed. [Read more…]

Living Your Legacy

I was talking with a friend at a wedding who I hadn’t seen in years. I asked about her kids and she said her son was working at their church as the janitor.

Then she said almost defensively, “But he has great benefits.”

I responded, “That’s great.” But thought, “What a shame.”

Not because the job isn’t worthwhile but because from her comment I could tell that her son has potential for other things but settled for the benefits.

How often do we take a job just for the benefits? Then wake up 30 years later and think, “What happened to my dreams?” [Read more…]

How to Prevent a Church Split–Part 3

I think if Christians spent as much time trying to share the good news of God’s love as they do focusing on who’s most spiritual they could change the world.

I also think a lot of non-believers look at churches going through all this inner family bickering and think, “No thanks. I’ve got enough problems.”

I mean, why wouldn’t they? [Read more…]

How to Prevent a Church Split–Part 2

We were in Jerusalem at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the traditional burial place of Jesus. We stood in line inside the huge domed center waiting to enter a small stone hut that allowed a glimpse of the rock where Jesus was laid supposedly. Priests from competing denominations who control that church kept walking through in all their royal garb waving censers smoking with incense. One after another shoved through the crowd to purify the area from the previous priest. Obviously the area had not been purified enough by someone from a different denomination.

Several thoughts ran through my mind. [Read more…]

How to Prevent a Church Split

A church I know formed when a group split from another church. Yet, in the last 25 years they’ve spawned a church because of another split, fired numerous pastors and turned over the membership regularly. All with devastating results.

People come to church to find peace and love in an otherwise often impersonal and crazy world.

So when a group leaves to start a competing church it feels like a civil war splitting friends and families. [Read more…]

How to Find Peace with Difficult People

Jerry Seinfeld had a great line, “People. They’re the worst!”

Do you ever feel that way?

I imagine we all have a few of those difficult people in our lives. They seem to go out of their way to make our day less wonderful. A rude remark. A “constructive criticism.” A purposeful slight.

Frankly, we just don’t like hanging around them. And often we don’t need to.

But what about the ones we can’t avoid? In a church or other organization. Where we work. In our family.
What do we do then? [Read more…]

Living Your A-Game

In college during the late 60’s and early 70’s I had no desire to change the world. Campus protesting burned and I was happy to help drain a keg at the frat house on Friday afternoons.

I planned to go into the family business. Live the American dream. Make some money. Do fun stuff.

Yet something inside was missing. As I faced graduation I increasingly felt uneasy about where I was going. I had it made yet somehow felt empty. I really couldn’t understand it but I also couldn’t shake it. [Read more…]

How to See the Miraculous

In the previous post we looked at some keys to keep our prayers from being answered. I know pretty inspirational.

The point is Jesus worked miracles and told us we could see the same. Yet, somehow we get disconnected.

Oh, occasionally we might glimpse something that looks suspiciously like a miracle but most of the time we just hope for some answer at all.

And frankly, then telling others about our religion is about as exciting as describing how your baby worked in his first tooth. You probably just had to be there.

So what gives? [Read more…]

How to Make Sure Your Prayers aren’t Answered

I watch Christians head down dead end roads in prayer. I’ve driven there myself.

We’re told early on, “God will answer your prayers.” No disclaimers. So we try it out. Sometimes it works. Sometimes not so much. We think, “Maybe I just need to figure out the right formula.”

So we keep throwing out prayers hoping some stick. And you know some do. Just enough to give us a little encouragement and keep us mostly confused. [Read more…]

Finding Love in All the Right Places

Something in our society is broken. We’ve run off the rails.

Depression and other emotional illnesses have skyrocketed.

Personal and family therapy is a new growth industry.

We have more affluence than any society in history yet more people are chronically unhappy.

Why? I certainly don’t know all the answers but one seems glaring. [Read more…]