In “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens, Ebenezer Scrooge, surviving partner of Scrooge & Marley, grudgingly gave Bob Cratchit his Christmas check and went home on Christmas Eve. He dreamed of Cratchit and three spirits – first, the spirit of the past, reminding him of his youth before he became miserly. Then he dreamed of…
I was named for two Baptist Pastors and the Chief of Police. My great, great Grandmother had five names. My daughter was named for a favorite aunt and me. My son was named for his two grandfathers. An international friend changed his name to Fred because when his foreign name was translated into English, his…
My Mother used to wrap and ribbon empty boxes and set them under the Christmas tree so it would look like we were having a bigger Christmas than we actually were. We also had a real tree to set them under. There were never any names on any gifts under our tree so we never…
More than eight million people did Internet searches for John 16:33 in a four hour period. Would you believe it was during a football game? Last Saturday, during the Southeastern Conference Football Championship game, Florida Quarterback Tim Tebow had the scripture reference painted on his face, under his eyes. Every time the cameras zoomed in…
In most circumstances, one out of ten is not very good. A student who answers one question correctly out of ten will fail the test. A quarterback who completes one pass out of ten is most likely on the losing team. A salesperson who completes one sale out of ten good prospects may need a…
“Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow.” So wrote Edward Sandford Martin, founder of the “Harvard Lampoon.” It is Thanksgiving Week in the U.S. – a time of remembrance with gratitude. Short memory makes thanksgiving difficult. Good memory makes…
When circumstances are beyond our control, we have a choice of responses. One of my favorite responses is laughter. As I was being introduced as the preacher for a recent revival meeting, the pastor got his words confused and introduced me as “Dr. Revival who is here to preach for us.” I was not sure…
Worship vs. performance? That’s another Memo. The issue here is leadership of worship music. Name one biblical character that led with eyes closed and don’t name someone who led through prayer. There is not one verse in the Bible that says anyone closed their eyes when they prayed. There are ten biblical postures for prayer….
Is it really more spiritual to close one’s eyes while leading worship music or does it just feel that way to the leader? I asked one worship leader how he could lead with his eyes closed. His reply was, “My job is to worship. If I worship, they will follow.” Last time I checked, preaching…
Over the past few weeks I have communicated with a number of God-called ministers who are no longer in vocational ministry. While there are some understandable and legitimate reasons, there are also some not-so-good reasons. I’ve also met a few people recently who once felt called to be involved in church activities but now find…