Jesus’ hands are never tied
“I’m sorry, sir. There is nothing I can do. My hands are tied.” I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve heard that in my life. You’re on the…
My church family
I love my church family. That’s what I call the people who belong to my congregation. Do you see the difference between calling church members “the congregation” and calling them…
With you always
I’ve enjoyed hearing the stories about Queen Elizabeth that people have shared since her death in September. Here’s one of my favorites. One summer, Queen Elizabeth was spending time at…
Build others up
How many conversations do you have in a day? What do you speak about? This season of the year affords many opportunities for conversation. It is the perfect time to…
Lutheran leadership: Not just authority
What comes to mind when you think of church leadership? Many of us think about our pastor or council member or school principal. Generally, when the Bible speaks of “leaders,”…
On mission statements and missions
Corporations grabbed the idea of mission statements from the church. At its best, a mission statement captures the drive, the focus, and the purpose of an entire organization. But most…
You are good to go
In the middle of airport security, I suddenly felt insecure. I couldn’t find it. It was just in my hand a moment ago—and now it was gone. I couldn’t go…
Sound the alarm
My wife and I were sitting in our living room, enjoying the quiet of having all our kids in bed. Just as the peace began to settle on our house,…
Pray, Christian, pray
I saw it in fine print as I was looking ahead in my planner. Then I flipped some pages on the calendar hanging on my wall and saw it again,…