Part 1 – The Problem Do you know those feelings of uncertainty or even guilt when someone asks you for money?  You want to be a good person, a compassionate person, and beyond that if you are a Christian, you want to obey the teachings and commands of Jesus when

I have an incredible mother-in-law.  Despite the jokes and the crazy stories, they do exist, and I happen to be blessed with one of the best ones.  Her husband, my father-in-law, is the extroverted one and we have enjoyed over fifteen years of rich conversation.  Carol Ann is quieter and

[This was written after the July 2016 murder of five Dallas police officers and the racial tensions that led up to it.] Despite all the horror and ugliness from this past week, I have seen so much good and beauty.  I have seen black and white friends calling each other

Leaders are supposed to have a Vision – the ability to see a new and better future for their people, the ability to help their people see that future with them, and to lead them towards it. It just sounds inspiring, doesn’t it? Here is a confession: most of the

[I’ve written about this before, but it is an important topic that I thought could use a little updating] Not everyone interprets and understands the Bible or scripture the same way. People all over the world interpret the Bible from many different religious, political, and professional perspectives.  These people may

Jesus tells us both to love our enemies (Matthew 5:44) and to love our neighbor (Matthew 22:36-40). I have spent a lot of years wrestling with what is the faithful thing to do when the two commands come into conflict. In violent confrontations is it right to use force to

What is it to you? This is a question that Jesus asked one of his disciples and it is one of the most important questions, I believe, for all of Jesus’ disciples. Jesus had been challenging Peter to follow him (Jesus) out of love for him (Jesus). Jesus also made

In the last post I briefly explained Bernard of Clairvaux’s four degrees of love. I love this model, not just because it expresses how Christians grow in faith and love, but more so how God meets us where we are and leads us toward being more free, alive, and mature

Twelfth century monk, Bernard of Clairvaux developed a helpful model for expressing how Christians (can) mature in their faith – the four degrees of love. Loving yourself for your own sake (Selfish Love) Loving God for your own sake (Dependence Love) Loving God for God’s sake (Intimacy Love) Loving Yourself

Other People’s Problems It is the teaching of Jesus and therefore the priority of his followers to “love our neighbors as our selves” and even to “love our enemies” (Mark 12:31 & Matt 5:44). This can become a tricky proposition for Christians in a number of ways. One of the