Category Archives: Personal Growth

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Unoffendable

Living Without Offense In Our Current Culture

One of the classes at our church started a new study this week called Unoffendable. The premise is based on a book of the same name, written by Brant Hansen, and we are using the book as a springboard for discussion in the class.

Unoffendable

As we started off the class last weekend, we discussed the topic of anger, and compared personal anger to social anger, to injustice, and to the concept of forgiveness that Jesus clearly defines in Scripture.

I’m looking forward to reading through the book to see what the author has to say on these subjects. After our first discussion, I was challenged in my own thinking. Let me give you an example of how I might need to review how I approach this idea.

I have always had a short temper, and controlling my anger is something I have struggled with over the years. I’m pretty sure I’m better at this than I was a few years ago, but I know I still have a long way to go. In Ephesians 4:26, Paul says, “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger.” But the question comes down to just what he means by this.

Does he mean that we are not to get angry? Is anger a sin? Or does he mean that when we do get angry, we are to make sure we handle it in a sin-free, appropriate manner? Is anger is a common human emotion, something we all deal with as emotional beings? Or is it something that comes straight from our fallen nature?

And what about righteous anger? Is there such a thing? Or is that simply our excuse to be angry and justify it? Can we be motivated about such things as injustice and the brokenness of the world without being angry? Can we handle those kinds of things without giving in to anger?

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One Word 365 – 2019 Edition

Finding One Word To Live By For 2019

For several years now, I have chosen one word by which I strive to live by for the year. I have never had much luck with resolutions at the beginning of a new year, and have much greater success by choosing a single word to make the focus of my personal growth for the next twelve months. I feel that I am able to become more of who I want to be, and more of who Gods wants me to be in this way.

One Word 365 - 2019 Edition

Over the past few years, I have chosen several words that have had a similar base to them. Last year, I chose to live “unhurried.” And the year before that, I chose to live in the “present.” Both of those stemmed from the feeling that God wanted me to live much more focused that I have been, and to set aside some things that, while being good things, were consuming much of my time and energy. This year’s word is along a similar vein.

I won’t go into details about all the words I have chosen to live by over the years (If you want to read through some of my other choices, and my reasons for them, here is a brief list). However, I will share with you that I believe that God is leading me to choose words words with similar concepts for a reason. I think he is continuing to grow me in these areas, and helping me to become more of the person he desires me to be.

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Coming Home For Christmas

Celebrating The Birth Of Christ In A New Location

I have moved several times throughout my life, mostly ministry related. It always takes some time to get settled in and acclimated to a new place. But this move has been a little bit different.

Coming Home For Christmas

I don’t really know what it is. It could be that the ages of some of our kids are older. Maybe it is because my wife and I are older. Perhaps it’s the home repair issues we have had to deal with, or the car accident that occurred shortly after we moved. Or, it could be the proximity to the holiday season. Whatever the case, I feel like we just haven’t gained our equilibrium after the move to Sedalia.

I’m not sure what is causing this (actually, I think I do. More on that in a minute). We just seem to be slow in getting settled in. Boxes are still not unpacked. Stuff still hasn’t been put away or hung on the walls. We just feel out of sorts.

During this transition, and in the weeks leading up to it, I felt the leading of God like never before. So I am absolutely certain that he has been right in the midst of this. Which leads me to believe that the unsettled feelings we have been experiencing are an attack by the enemy to discourage us and keep us off balance. The enemy is keeping us from making this house a new home.

As a result, I have been doing some studies through the Bible on people who have moved, such as Abram, who left home for an entirely new country. Or Jesus himself, who moved from Nazareth to establish his home base in Capernaum. What was home like for people such as these? How did they rely upon the Father fully during such times of upheaval? What does the Bible have to say about the concept of home?

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The Indescribable Peace Of God

How God Meets Us Where We Are With What We Need

The past several weeks have been a whirlwind of busy activity, stress, and feelings of being overwhelmed. But in the midst of it all, there is a simple peace that pervades.

Peace of God

By now, you have probably noticed that things have been pretty quiet around here for the past couple of months. That is because we have moved, and life has been extraordinarily busy.

At the end of October, I concluded my ministry with the Cabool Christian Church in Cabool, Missouri, and began a new ministry with the Parkview Christian Church in Sedalia, Missouri, which is about three hours north of Cabool.

We packed up the house, got it ready to sell (which is an incredible story of its own), and made the transition to Sedalia. All in all, this took about two months, from the announcement of my resignation, to the day of the move. So far, we have been in our new location for almost three weeks, and getting settled in has been quite hectic.

So far, we have dealt with a plumbing issue, a furnace issue, and are in the middle of a roof issue. And we have boxes to unpack, lots of boxes. And the garage is full of all the stuff that we don’t have a place for yet. And we have been regular customers at Lowe’s and Menards as we go pick up the supplies that we need for various projects getting the house in line with our needs. I think I’m on a first name basis with several of the employees there.

We have unpacked the office, got the kids enrolled in school, experienced an early snow, provided a ton of boxes for the recycling truck to pick up, managed to fit all of our furniture into a smaller house, and are working on really getting settled in. I’m not sure this house feels like a home yet, but I think we’re getting there.

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Measuring Life By The Homes We Have Loved

How A House Becomes A Home

Every now and then. I think about how life can be measured by different things, and recently, I have been measuring my life by the homes I have lived in.

Home

We are just a few weeks away from saying goodbye to a house that has been a good home for our family, and moving into a new building that I hope will quickly take on the characteristics of home.

Over the years, we have had several homes. Some have been houses that we simply lived in for a time. Others have developed that special quality that makes the building into something special. Some have become home.

I suspect that there is a lot more to this than just the physical buildings that we live in, those special qualities that make it meaningful. I suspect that it has to do as much with the community, and the friendships that we have developed, and the relationships between our own family members as we have lived, laughed and loved together inside these walls. Those are the things that make a building something special in our lives.

For instance, this is the building where my youngest daughter took her first steps, where my boys lost their teeth, where my daughters introduced their first boyfriends to their mother and me. This is a place where I can see the ghostly memories of small children digging holes in the back yard, of older children riding bikes, of sitting around a campfire or swinging on the playset.

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Following God Into The Unexpected

Where God Leads We Must Follow

Sometimes God does things that catch you completely by surprise. When times like that happen, what do you do? You follow, of course.

Sedalia, Missouri

That is exactly what has happened to us over the last few months. God has caught me completely off guard with something that seemingly came out of the blue. And as crazy as it seems, and as hesitant as I have been through the process, I really have no other choice but to follow and trust his leading.

A few months ago, I would have told you that we were in a position in our lives that was long term, and right in the center of God’s will for my family and for my ministry. Little did I know that he had something new and different in store.

Last spring, someone emailed me a link to a church seeking a new minister, thinking I might be a good fit. I immediately deleted it, and gave it no thought at all. But a few months later, during the early part of summer, I received a call from a good friend who attends this church, who also thought that I might be a good fit for this ministry. Now we have had two instances of God bringing this to my attention. Was I supposed to pursue this?

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Finding A Quiet Place

Withdrawing To A Quiet Place For Prayer

Do you have a place where you can get away from everything for a few moments to be alone for the purpose of prayer? If not, you need to find a spot.

Finding A Quiet Place

Several times through the Gospels, we read of Jesus heading out to a solitary spot for the purpose of prayer. This was a very regular occurrence for Jesus, and it should be for us as well.

At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place… – Luke 4:42a

I have found such a spot not too far from my home. It’s far enough that I can’t just go there any time I want, because it’s about an hour away, but it is near Springfield, where I find myself frequently for ministry errands, hospital calls, and personal stuff. So every now and then I stop by and sit for a while.

It provides a great place to pray and reflect on what God is doing in my life, and in the lives of my wife and kids. It provides a nice location to seek his presence in my life, which can be busy and full to the point that I can’t really hear the still, small voice of God. It provides an atmosphere that is calm and peaceful, which can help my stress levels to lower, and my hurried nature to slow down and breath deep of the love of God.