By Bill Leonard A student friend of mine recently reported that when he graduates from divinity school he intends to go full time with a new company that he helped entrepreneur. This decision, he says, offers his family a stable…
Birthday offerings
What is your earliest memory of giving or receiving? That was the first of a set of prompts given to a small discussion group this week at a class I attended on religious fundraising. My mind immediately pictured a small…
Who does God want to win the Super Bowl?
By Alan Rudnick Watching the pregame coverage of Super Bowl XXXII in 1998, I was shocked when a reporter asked Green Bay Packers’ defensive end and ordained minister Reggie White if he thought God wanted him to win the Super…
For Pete’s sake
My last sermon of 2013 was named after a Pete Seeger song – “Turn! Turn! Turn!” Based on a Ecclesiastes 3, it is a text that I’ve mostly used for funerals. I wanted an opportunity to use the song in…
Learning from experience
According to the story, a young person asked an older, wiser person, “How do I avoid mistakes?” The mentor said, “Get experience.” The young person rejoined, “Then how do I get experience?” The reply: “Make mistakes.” Of course, this assumes…
Small things make a difference
By Bill Wilson Let’s eat grandpa.Let’s eat, grandpa. It’s true, correct punctuation can save a life. A comma is so very small, just a smudge of ink between two words. That small smudge, however, can make a huge difference. Same…
Does God promise you a spouse?
As couples begin to plan for summer weddings, I’m starting to receive “save the date” reminders. I received one and started thinking back to my youth. I grew up going to southern Baptist youth camps where preachers would proclaim that God…
Where are the songs of lament in worship?
By Hillary Kimsey Lee and I grew up in church together. We were usually co-champions in Sunday school Bible trivia. We loved Lord of the Rings. We went on a couple dates. The night before the first final exam of…
Why do you keep asking God to throw you a Hail Mary pass?
Some Christians treat God like an all-star National Football League quarterback such as Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, or Drew Brees. They have failed at some aspect of the game of life and ask God to throw them a Hail Mary…