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May 14

Wednesday, May 14th, 2025

How many times have you heard “Pride goes before the fall”?  A million. A zillion? If you have heard it only once you know it is very true.

I was struck this morning as I read the Scripture that was the focus of Everyday Gospel, reading how relevant that saying is. Here is what the Bible says: ‘“He (Uzziah) did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, just as his father, Amaziah, had done. Uzziah sought God during the days of Zechariah, who taught him to fear God. And as long as the king sought guidance from the Lord, God gave him success.” (2 Chronicles 26:4-5) Verse 15 says, “His fame spread far and wide, for the Lord gave him marvelous help, and he became very powerful.”

But then we hit verse 16 and the hammer falls: 

But when he had become powerful, he also became proud, which led to his downfall. He sinned against the Lord his God by entering the sanctuary of the Lord’s Temple and personally burning incense on the incense altar.

When confronted by the priest, Azariah, King Uzziah raised the incense burner to strike him and when he did leprosy broke out on the forehead. He lived in isolation the rest of his life.

I hate reading those words “But when he had become powerful, he also became proud, which led to his downfall.” His success contributed to his demise. I don’t think I need to ask how many times we have seen this in our day and age. A CEO gets too big for his/her britches. An entitled executive has an agenda. (Does Bud Light ring a bell?) A pastor gets too pompous in his “empire” and with all the “yes” people around him, he has no checks and balances. Embezzlement. Misuse of funds. Sexual charges (of all kinds). An entitled athlete finds himself mired in scandal or not so high on the leader board as he/she once thought they were.

Tragic events happen when pride rears its ugly head. I’m not saying there isn’t a good type of pride. A young man did a fine job giving the communion meditation this past Sunday. Rightfully so, his parents could be proud of their 17 year old son. But even something as beautiful as that can be turned into a moment of ungodly pride by the father of lies.

Let’s keep our feet on the ground, our head out of the clouds, and our heart beating for the Master. Pride is ugly; humility, although much harder to maintain, is the key.

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May 12

Monday, May 12th, 2025

“I’m at a loss. I don’t know what to say.” “I hate going to funeral homes. I don’t know what to say and if I speak I am afraid I will say the wrong thing.” I can’t even begin to tell you how many time I have heard that in my 50+ years in the ministry. It is a touchy subject without a doubt. NO ONE wants to be THAT person…the one who opens mouth and inserts foot, or the one who simply says the wrong thing at the wrong time. As I was rereading and ultimately finishing last night Douglas Grouthuis’ book, Walking Through Twilight, he gave some helpful tips on how to help lighten the load of someone, like him, who was going through the slow decline and ultimate death of his wife. Following are his suggestions and I add some commentary:

First, we ought to pray for wisdom before speaking or communicating with someone under the pressure of loss.  Ask God for the right words to say or not say.  Pr. 12:14 says, “Wise words bring many benefits.”  In that same chapter it says, “Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up.” (v.25). Choose your words wisely. Douglas gives an example of one who just found out she had cancer. The other person said, “Oh, if I had to have chemo-just shoot me.” There is a saying for that: “Better to keep your mouth shut and thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.”

Second, avoid overinterpreting the dire situations by trying to read God’s mind. Stay away from cliches like “Oh, God will bring good out of evil.”  That is true, but the person doesn’t want to hear that right now. How much better to sit silently and not give meaningless platitudes.

Third, learn to lament with people. Listen to the stories of suffering and identify with them. Stop  interrupting. Say unprofound but appropriate things like, “I am so sorry” and “That is terrible.”  Don’t wax poetic. Don’t wax spiritual. And please, please, please, don’t say, “I know how you feel.”  No. No you don’t. Every situation is unique. How much better to say, “I’m sorry. I don’t know how you feel, but I will be here for you.”

I’ll add a fourth. Don’t say, “If you need me, call me.” They won’t. I’ve taken to say, “How can I help you right now?” “Can I do anything for you right now?” I’d like to also add: don’t disappear. Perhaps worse than hearing empty pablum is hearing nothing at all. If you care, put yourself out there. Martyred missionary, Jim Elliot once said, “Wherever you are, be all there.” That is especially true when offering lament to someone.

May we learn to empathize well.

I wrote about Douglas’ book in this post.

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May 8

Thursday, May 8th, 2025

Have you ever heard someone say, “I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer?” Well, probably not because they are usually talking about someone else and their inability to “get it.” So here is an honest confession: I know I’m not always the sharpest knife in the drawer. I can pawn it off these days to my age (72) or to my lack of knowing the “now” lingo of this current generation. For example, our youth pastor has just begun mentoring our part-time Children’s Ministry Director and has tasked her with “glowing up” a couple of the youth classrooms. Say what? What in the world is “glowing up?” By a process of elimination (including my mind) I figured out that it meant “to make the classroom come alive, to not be stodgy and cold.” Truthfully, it needs it, but “glowing it up?” (Rolling eyes emoji here).

But I digress. Let’s go back to my original statement: I am not always the sharpest knife in the drawer. There is usually someone smarter than me; someone (most often) more media savvy than me; someone more up-to-date and relevant than me.

But then I started thinking this morning: do I really care? I came to the conclusion, Nope I don’t care. What made me think about that this morning? I was reading 2 Chronicles 1 and Proverbs 8 this morning. The passage in Chronicles is where Solomon is taking over as ruler for his father, David, and in 1:7 God asks him, “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!” I seriously doubt I or many in this day and age would answer as Solomon did: “Give me wisdom and knowledge to lead them (the people as numerous as the dust of the earth-v.9) properly, for who could possibly govern this great people of yours?” (v.10). God’s answer is classic: “Because your greatest desire is to help your people, and you did not ask for wealth, riches, or fame , or even the death of your enemies or a long life, but rather you asked for wisdom and knowledge to properly govern my people-I will certainly give you the wisdom and knowledge you requested.” (verses 11-12)  Oh…He also gave him wealth, riches, and fame. Sadly, Solomon couldn’t handle it.

I’ve always been impressed by Solomon’s answer and have wondered what I would ask for. I hope at this stage of my life and maturity I would still ask for wisdom and not say, “Live a comfortable life financially and be able to travel anywhere I want (which I don’t want to do anyway).” I hope I would still seek wisdom.  Pr. 8:10-11 says, “Choose my instruction rather than silver, and knowledge rather than pure gold. For wisdom is far more valuable than rubies. Nothing you desire can compare with it.”

Okay, time for you to answer: what would you choose to ask for?

{Note: All Scripture from the New Living Translation}

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May 6

Tuesday, May 6th, 2025

Temptation to do something wrong is always “there.”  So is the temptation to do something mischievous. I know you thinking, “Who me? Do something mischievous?”  Yeah, I know what that’s like. I have those times too. 

Something I read today about a teacher who lined her students up to go to lunch and they always jockeyed for the front of the line spurred my thinking. One day she switched it around and those in the back where the ones who went first. That got me to thinking about being snarky and mischievous. More mischievous than anything. You see…it is always a joke, especially in a church, how people jockey for the back row. I have one (Gail) who stands in a crowd all her own. She immediately goes to the front row. Like me, she knows distractions abound when you have others sitting in front of you. I prefer the front row. But I digress. Most people (except the really spiritual ones like Gail and me 🙂 ) head for the back rows. Now, here is where the little mischievous boy in me comes into play. I have been tempted-and so far I have resisted-to suddenly stand up to preach and change directions. Go to the back of the room and make people turn their chairs around. Can you imagine the moans and groans and the words reserved for Pastor Bill?  It’s not possible to do that anymore since we have a camera set up in the back for our live stream, but oh…the fun I would have! Or the mutiny. Take your pick. 🙂

That teacher had to teach her class a lesson in “me first, you second” vs “you first, me second.” Jesus did the same. He once taught that the “one who wants to be first must be last.” There is something to be said and something that happens when we learn to put others before ourselves. When I was a kid I was taught J–O–Y– is Jesus first; Others second; Yourself last. In our get-ahead world, imagine the difference it would make if we all had this attitude. Others Before Self.

Jesus came to start a revolution (“I did not come to be served, but to serve.”). Maybe it is time we picked up on it.

And yes, I published this before Gail was able to put her .02 worth in. But I know Gail: she will forgive me. 🙂

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May 5

Monday, May 5th, 2025

During Spring Break about 15 of our people went to east Tennessee to help IDES (International Disaster Emergency Services) with cleanup and rebuilding homes caused by flooding from Hurricane Helene. They were supposed to give a presentation of their work on April 6th but ironically, we had to cancel services that morning due to extreme flooding in our area and a RED travel advisory (only emergency vehicles were to be out). So we rescheduled it for May 4th (yesterday). As the people spoke about the one item that stood out to them, I noticed what I thought was a theme that wove its way through each one: the opportunity to serve. There were variations of that to be sure, but several of them came right out and said it: “I wanted to be a Mary not a Martha. I wanted to listen to people.” “I wanted to serve in any way possible, even if it meant shoveling gravel” (said by a young lady who was not strong-looking by any stretch). Several others related how they simply wanted to serve these people. One even mentioned how the lady’s whose house they were building served them a hot meal every day.  I guess you could say, “The served being the server”?

In his May 5th devotion in Everyday Gospel, the author, Paul David Tripp, began his devotion with this little gambit: 

Grace transforms us from being those who live for our own glory to being those who find joy in living for the glory and fame of another.

In this case, it was David’s passion to build the Temple, but God in His wisdom told him that he was a man of war and a man of peace was to build the Temple. That man of peace was Solomon, his son.  David’s words to his son were, “MY son, I wanted to build a Temple to honor the name of the Lord my God.” (I Chron. 22:7) David did his part in helping build the Temple by gathering materials needed for the building. He commissioned men to use their gifts to build the Temple. He solicited the help of others in getting the lumber for it.

Put plainly: David wanted a building that would show off the magnificence of God. It really wasn’t for him to have a lasting legacy of “Look what David built.” His sole purpose for building it was the honor and glory of God to be spread. What a great purpose for our lives!! What a great challenge for today, for every day. Live my life to bring honor and glory to God. And you?

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April 28

Monday, April 28th, 2025

I will be out of town for the next few days (back Wednesday) watching our grandson play high school baseball and also visiting with Janna and the clan. I’m posting this today but unless something happens where I feel I can post easily, I won’t be back until Thursday.

In my last post I wrote about Prince Thomas and the feeling that he had of being called to something, but he wasn’t sure what it was. His Uncle David told him to “bide his time, that if God was calling him, he would be tracked down in God’s time, not his own.” As the book (Dancing Prince) shows, his calling was to become the next king after his father, King Michael, relinquished the throne. I also mentioned that I would share my own journey about being called.

My mother told me once that as far as she could remember, I always talked about being a preacher. I remember it differently. 🙂 I always wanted to play professional baseball and then when I grew so quickly between my 8th & 9th grade, I took up basketball. I was so bad that I could not dribble and walk at the same time. The coach had me learn on the sidelines while the team was practicing. Eventually I got so I could do both and learned to love basketball. So much so, that when I was in an awkward age to play baseball (there was no team for my age), basketball took over. I soon wanted to get good enough to play college then professional ball. Well, several things stacked up against me on that. I was 6’3″; I wasn’t a good ball handler; and I sat the bench. Even as a Senior my coach decided to play underclassmen preparing for the next year or two. (It backfired. They did terribly).

Between my Freshman and Sophomore year in college, I made a solid commitment to Christ and to follow Him where ever. If that meant, the ministry then so be it.  I played basketball and studied… hard since nothing came easy to me. I decided not to play ball my senior year because I wanted better grades, was preaching on the weekends, and…oh yeah…got married. 🙂 I preached at a little country church for almost two years and then became a youth pastor closer to the school. After graduation, I was an Associate Pastor in Akron, OH where I was officially ordained on April 13, 1975. But I always wanted to preach and so the next church was a five-year preaching ministry in a small town (not even a stop light) in Ohio. In my 50 years of ministry I have been to Ohio, Indiana, back to Ohio, back to Indiana, back to Ohio and now back to Indiana for the past 19 years.  (The 19 best years of my ministry life).

There have been a lot of ups and downs, mistakes, foot-in-mouth disease, victories, losses, joy, sadness, but in all of it I know God was there. I have absolutely no doubt I am doing exactly what God designed me to do: Preach His Word and love His people. I wouldn’t trade one moment of His pleasure for all the money in the world.

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April 24

Thursday, April 24th, 2025

Have you ever felt called to do something? Sometimes you knew what it was and sometimes you were clueless and had to sit back and wait. (Don’t you just love waiting?) In Book #5 of the Dancing Priest series by Glynn Young, the issue of calling was huge. Prince Thomas, the youngest child of Michael and Sarah Kent-Hughes, struggled with his calling. Compounding the questions and the whole situation was his relationship with his father. During his early years, while King Michael was engulfed in Government he became close to his mother, Queen Sarah.  He was also a very bright and “feeling” boy/young man. When Angus McLin, an autistic boy, needed a friend, Thomas was that friend and they remained friends through adulthood. Angus flourished because of Thomas’ friendship and insight. But his closeness to his mother caused a rift between father and son. Michael’s jealousy and anger were always the elephant in the room. Prince Thomas also chafed against being a royal. 

Once, in a conversation with his oldest brother, Hank, and his wife, Hannah, the issue of calling came up. Hank was in line to be the next king and had even gone through the ceremony. In their conversation, Hank asks Thomas if he remember the story of Samuel’s anointing of David.  {Note: Samuel is impressed with David’s brothers but after each one he is reminded that God does not see as we see because while we look at the outside, God looks at the heart}.  Hank goes on to say, “I may have looked and acted the role, Tommy, but I don’t think I ever really had the heart for it…I was going through the motions; this wasn’t me. I wasn’t comfortable in this Prince of Wales skin. My head and heart were in the City; what set me on fire was how to harness investment and wealth to help people flourish.”

He paused. “But you do have a heart for it. Even when you were a boy, you seemed like you’d been called to it. You were always the serious one, the wise one. You understood things long before the rest of us did.” When Hank apologized to Thomas for handing this ball and chain to him, Thomas said he didn’t see it as that.  He then clarifies what he means. When he graduated from ICS (a Christian high school), he said, “I had a distinct impression that I was being called to do something. I thought I was being called to the priesthood, but that seemed off.”  Through his wrestling he spoke with his Uncle David (Sarah’s brother) who told him to bide his time, “that if God was calling me, I’d be tracked down in God’s time.”  Hank summed it up: “You were being called, but it wasn’t to the priesthood.”   (Edited from pages 334-336)

If you read Dancing Prince you will find the answer to that question and how that sense of calling was fulfilled. My next post will also give my personal testimony on that issue and I’ll tell you what happened to Thomas. 

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April 23

Wednesday, April 23rd, 2025

In my post yesterday, I repeated a discussion from Glynn Young’s Book #4 in the Dancing King series.  I’ll repeat it here:

King Michael and Queen Sarah were talking about when life was simpler and that it seemed like it was just yesterday when he studying and preaching  and she was expecting their first biological child. Michael laments that it seems so far away. The following is Sarah’s reply:

Sarah replies: “It was another life. Even if we don’t know what we’re doing, Mike, or what we should do, God does. The stuff that’s horrible or appalling or perplexing, He knows it. He has us both here for a reason, if we can’t fathom it and even if we want to be anywhere else but here. Mike, He’s ripping the lid off the sewer; it’s just hard to be one of the workers He sends in to clean out the pipes.” (p.222)

I wanted to comment more on what she said but word count put a limit on what I said. So I thought I would make a comment or two today. First, what prompted Michael and Sarah’s musing has been, unfortunately, headline true. The Church of England, of which Michael was an ordained priest, was having the lid blown off its sex abuse scandal-the coverup and moving around of pedophile priests who maimed over a thousand boys mentally and spiritually. That is a heavy weight for any to carry, especially a fictitious king and queen whose God-inspired and God-involved life had been radically interrupted, first by becoming king and queen of England; second, by the government’s inability to function; and third, by the exploding scandal involving the church. 

God places people where He wants and needs them. Sometimes it is often unexpected. I know I have used the phrase “Who da thunk it?” when referring to circumstances that defy logic. A person who seems to be out of their element performing a feat that defies explanation. Sort of the like the unexpected athlete who becomes a superstar or a gold medal winner. God does not make mistakes at any time, and that is especially true when placing people where He needs them. Some are shepherds of people and some, like Sarah says, are used to clean out the filth. I am old enough to remember the Christian singer, the late Keith Green, who was vilified and misunderstood because he dared talk, write and sing about hypocrisy and deadness in the life of the church and individual followers of Christ. Some used the term “prophet” which I hesitate using. He was fiery like a prophet of the Old Testament and his “take no prisoners” approach sure was in your face, but there was no compromise acceptable to Keith. Nor should there be for us.

God has placed you; He has placed me, exactly where He wants us to be. And while we may not understand it all, He is not asking us to. He is simply asking us to trust His way and work and be obedient. 

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April 22

Tuesday, April 22nd, 2025

As I have mentioned in several posts, I am rereading Glynn Young’s 5 part series called Dancing Priest. In fact, due to a schedule that allowed me to read a little more than usual in the evening, and a few later nights than normal, I have completed reading the series again. I plan to use the last two books in the series as inspiration for posts this week. 

I have a confession to make first. I have really struggled with this post. NOT because of the book. It was fabulous. Well-written, holding my attention as each page wrapped me into the story, I struggled, not because of the story, but because of the subject matter. To clarify: I am not trying to scare anyone away, but you must be aware of the seriousness of the subject matter. Woven in the story of newly crowned King Michael and Queen Sarah Kent-Hughes, is a story so heart-wrenching I had to stop a few times to gather my emotions. King Michael is ready to get down to business serving the people of the UK, not knowing a looming scandal involving the Church of England (CoE)-of which he is an ordained priest- is about to rock his world. Michael is forced to take on the job of running the government because politicians do what politicians do best-fight each other and refuse to compromise and get along. (Hmmm sounds familiar).  In the midst of all of this, Michael is made aware by various different ways (one which involves his and Sarah’s adopted son, Jason), of the sexual abuse running rampant in the CoE.  I’m not going to go into detail on the scandal. You will have to read it yourself to find out more! 🙂

However, there is a discussion between King Michael and Queen Sarah that stuck out to me. As Michael was looking back over what was (his preparing and preaching) and Sarah was expecting their first child (Hank), he says, “It seems like decades, and another life.”

Sarah replies: “It was another life. Even if we don’t know what we’re doing, Mike, or what we should do, God does. The stuff that’s horrible or appalling or perplexing, He knows it. He has us both here for a reason, if we can’t fathom it and even if we want to be anywhere else but here. Mike, He’s ripping the lid off the sewer; it’s just hard to be one of the workers He sends in to clean out the pipes.” (p.222)

What a vivid description of what often has to happen to ugly situations. Rip the lid off the sewer and clean out the pipes. Spoiler alert: the subject matter is a clergy scandal of abuse which rapidly spreads. It is ugly. It is a sewer. But Glynn rips the lid off and gives us a whiff of the smell. Glynn could have taken this from the headlines. 

‘Nuff said. I’d suggest reading the book yourself. But start with #1.  And if you, or someone you love, is a victim of clergy abuse, report it and get help.

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April 16

Wednesday, April 16th, 2025

Unknown people are often the ones we need to learn about the most and take lessons from.

For example, Katherine Wright. Chances are pretty good you may know someone by that name. But not this Katherine. Recently one of the men in the church gave a communion thought on Katherine. You may be more familiar with her brothers-Orville and Wilbur-who invented, built, and flew the first successful airplane in the early 1900s.  Because of their prominence many, perhaps most, have never heard of Katherine. Yet in their successful endeavor of building a “flying machine,” Katherine was vital to their success. While they concentrated on the details that brought them success, Katherine was quietly behind the scenes essential to their success. You may be thinking, “But I’ve never heard of her!” Exactly! That’s my point. She kept their bicycle shop going (her brother’s source of income), left her teaching job to nurse Orville back to health after a plane crash, and managed the details of their growing fame.

Katherine is a perfect example of someone who knows their role and fulfills it. Up front or behind the scenes, it takes all kinds of people to do essential things. In this case helping her brothers reset travel. (Do you think they envisioned air travel today back in their early days? I think not). Anyway, Katherine chose her spot and filled it with grace and service.  We have people like that today who do just that. For every up front people who likes/desires the limelight, there is someone behind the scenes doing the camera work, the script writing, the sound board, the live stream, fixing communion (in a church setting), teaching a kid’s class while the adults are meeting, and a myriad of other tasks. My wife is one of those people. Every week she makes me look like I know what I’m doing by typing and showing the Power Point during my sermons. She has been doing this for more than the 19 years we have been here.  She knows me like a glove and even when I mess up, she covers me. 

She is just like the ONE we celebrate and remember this week as we head  toward Resurrection Sunday. This week is often called Holy Week because it is the last week of Jesus’ earthly life. From His entrance into Jerusalem on a donkey to His crucifixion and resurrection one week later, His whole life was one of being a servant. He showed us how to a servant throughout His life; demonstrated it the night He washed the disciples’ feet; then willingly laid down His life on the cross. For all for us. We could ask for no greater example than Him.

Follow in His footsteps. Serve, even if it is in the shadows. “There is no greater love than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

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