“Don’t talk to strangers.” It’s what my mother told me all the time growing up, and I’m sure it’s what you tell your own children. Strangers aren’t safe because you don’t know them.
A Quiet Life: Living at Peace with One’s Self
April 12, 2023 by
One great embarrassment of Christians is that we talk so much and so loudly. Interviews and conversations of all kinds often remind us of a pride of lions feeding, snapping and snarling, each lunging in for a moment and then getting shoved aside by others.
Presenting Portraits of Jesus
April 11, 2023 by
When Mark sketched out our first Gospel account of Jesus, he was not simply writing a direct history or creating a photo account about Jesus. He was doing something far more significant than recording a Vine. He was providing a testimony about the figure he believed was the most important person who ever lived.
Catching a Glimpse
December 27, 2022 by
The first Christmas comes and goes, and most people don’t notice. Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, and a few others catch a glimpse of what is happening, but they’re just a handful.
Getting It All Together
May 18, 2022 by
Jesus’ boat lands on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee—no longer in Jewish territory. This is like landing in Cuba. Along the edge of the lake, tombs are cut into the mountain. The village graveyard is this land’s version of a mental institution.
Crossroads: Everyone
March 7, 2022 by
My granddad loved to fish. And I wasn’t a fan of fishing. In fact, I thought fishing was pretty boring. But one day he talked me into going fishing with him for a tournament. We have pictures to prove that I caught a fish that day (that I wouldn’t touch).
Crossroads: The Body of Christ
January 24, 2022 by
Talk about a time in your life when you had to work as a team with others. Talk about what your role was and how each person had a different role. What were you trying to accomplish?
Crossroads: Why We Baptize
January 10, 2022 by
I have loved Jesus for practically my whole life. I grew up in church, and we were there pretty much every time the church was open. At seven years old, I told Jesus that I wanted him to be my Savior and I was baptized.
Crossroads: The Answer Is Prayer
October 4, 2021 by
I’m a worrier. It’s who I am. I worry about test results, about family members and close friends, about the future, etc. Sometimes my worry feels overwhelming. And so I pray.
Crossroads: Children
September 27, 2021 by
“Children should be seen and not heard.” “Go sit at the kid’s table.” Did you hear things like this when you were a child? Maybe you were taught that you should sit quietly and not interrupt the grownups who were talking.
Crossroads: Do Something
September 6, 2021 by
Theory and practice are two very different things. I may believe that I can do something, but until I actually do it, who knows whether or not I can?
Crossroads: The Armor of God
August 30, 2021 by
Have you ever seen some of the equipment that comes with playing sports? Football players put on helmets, chin guards, mouth guards, cleats, and shoulder pads in order to protect themselves when they play.
Crossroads: Roots
August 2, 2021 by
Today’s Scripture is all about our roots growing in God’s love. How do you feel about your life’s roots? Have they grown deep in God’s love?
Crossroads: The Storms of Life
June 28, 2021 by
I was always terrified of storms as a child. The thunder scared me the most, and my mom could never convince me that the thunder couldn’t hurt me.
Crossroads: Friends
May 10, 2021 by
I was at school when I got the call that she was gone, and a friend of mine found me crying in the hallway. He comforted me and then we went our separate ways.
Crossroads: Staying Connected
May 3, 2021 by
I have always loved wisteria. I know that it’s a parasite, but it has always been beautiful to me. One of my favorite parts of driving to my grandparents’ house as a kid was driving past the beautiful wisteria growing in a patch of trees.
Crossroads: Compassion
April 25, 2021 by
How do you show compassion for others? Did you help others when you were a child, or is it something you have started recently?
Crossroads: A Blank Slate
April 19, 2021 by
It’s no secret that I loved school as a child. One of my favorite parts about going back to school was buying school supplies. Even if I had pens and pencils at home, I wanted new ones for school.
Crossroads: I Doubt It
April 12, 2021 by
When I was a child, we always played a game called “I doubt it” when we went on vacation. It was a card game and the point was to be the person who got rid of all of their cards first.
Crossroads: Good Friday, A World in Ruins
March 29, 2021 by
Have you ever had a week start off well, but by the end of it all hope seems lost? Terrible things happen all at once, and you just aren’t sure how you’re going to make it another hour, let alone another day.
Flame: God as our Anchor Craft and Prayer Activity
July 7, 2020 by
Here is a prayer activity that older children could do independently to help them think about trusting in God for their strength. It could be used especially if you were exploring stories that involve the sea or storms!
Crossroads: The Body of Christ
July 30, 2018 by
God has given each of us different gifts. Some are called to preach, others to teach, others to make snacks for Vacation Bible School, still others to fix the air conditioner when it breaks.
Flame: A Lesson in Self-Control
July 25, 2018 by
Today we continued studying the fruit of the Spirit by looking at self-control. We tried a game to start that involved marbles and cut up paper towel tubes.
Formations 10.08.2017: Dance with the One that Brought You
October 1, 2017 by
After recounting his dealings with Peter and the other Jerusalem leaders in chapter 2, Paul launches into the main topic of his letter: “doing the works of the Law” versus “believing what you heard” (3:2). Which of these, Paul asks, is the basis for the blessings God has poured out on us?
Flame: The Calling of Levi with Colored Cards
September 19, 2017 by
We’re always trying different ways to tell stories in visual ways, so here is what we tried in our scaled-down summer group (3-11 years old). We told the story of Jesus calling Levi (Luke 5:27-32) using colored pieces of paper to represent the characters.
Crossroads: The Friend in the Night
July 17, 2017 by
My favorite word as a child was “why”. I know my mother got tired of me asking “Why?” all the time. I was a very curious child. In fact, as a small child, my mother had a hard time getting me to sleep. She said it seemed as if I always wanted to observe the world, to know what was going on.
Connections 07.17.2016: “Can I Get in Line?”
July 10, 2016 by
Andrew, my five-year-old nephew, is a great source of joy in our family. Born at 29 weeks, weighing about 2.5 pounds, he lived in the neonatal intensive care unit of the hospital for 65 days before my brother Dusty and his wife Christy were able to bring him home.
Formations 06.26.2016: Mary Magdalene and the Gardener
June 19, 2016 by
Halfway through drafting this post, I realized I was guilty of oversimplification in order to find a moral in this story. I hadn’t determined if I would praise Mary for recognizing Jesus’ resurrection or chide her for missing it at first.
Connections 06.26.2016: We Know
June 19, 2016 by
At one point in his 1971 song “Ain’t No Sunshine,” singer/songwriter Bill Withers says the phrase “I know” twenty-six times in a row. He says he intended to write other lyrics, but the veteran musicians playing on his debut album talked him into leaving it as it was.
Crossroads: Waiting
June 13, 2016 by
Have you ever had to wait for something that you were sure was going to happen? You wait with nervous anticipation, excited and scared at the same time. I went to Paris when I was 16.
Formations 06.12.2016: Grace at the End of the Line
June 5, 2016 by
Before beginning as an associate editor at Smyth & Helwys, I graduated from Mercer University. In the three weeks between finishing school and starting work, I gave up on productivity and chose to go fishing instead.
Formations 06.05.2016: All You Have to Change Is Everything You Are
May 29, 2016 by
Why are so many celebrities willing to sacrifice who they are in order to achieve success and fame? Jan Aitken, a life coach based in Dunedin, New Zealand, recently pondered this question after watching a documentary about Janis Joplin, a stellar blues singer.
Crossroads: Don’t Give Up!
May 23, 2016 by
When we were kids, my sister hated school. She didn’t want to do her homework or study, and so there were a lot of times when she didn’t understand things. But when she was in Middle School, she had a really hard time with math.
Formations 05.29.2016: Asking and Listening
May 22, 2016 by
Ernesto Sirolli is widely renowned throughout the world as an expert in economic development. He has led successful International Aid efforts in communities in Zambia, Kenya, Algeria, and other African countries to develop sustainable economies.
Connections 05.29.2016: What Zacchaeus Saw
May 22, 2016 by
Most people, if given the choice between being physically tall or financially and socially big, would go with the power. So Zacchaeus was big in the ways that most folks regard as important.
Crossroads: The Presence of the Holy Spirit
May 16, 2016 by
Several years ago on a weekend retreat, I gathered with a group of teenagers in a dimly lit room to share an Agape Love Feast. Earlier, we had set up the room with candles, a plate of bread, and a large cup of grape juice.
Formations 05.22.2016: Casting a Vision
May 15, 2016 by
One of the key skills of any leader is motivating his or her team, and there is no shortage of advice about how to do it. Much of this advice, however, though true, is also rather basic.
Connections 05.22.2016: Like a Child
May 15, 2016 by
My older daughter, Samantha, is eleven years old. Though reserved and quiet around new people, she is at least polite, and she becomes more animated when she gets to know them better. As a baby, though, her encounters with new people went a little differently.
Formations 05.15.2016: Unfamiliar Truth
May 8, 2016 by
C. S. Lewis, himself a Christian convert, wrote some pretty original and fantastic fiction, most of which didn’t even take place on this planet as we know it. The books in his Narnia series were the first stories I remember my parents reading aloud to me when I was a kid.
Connections 05.15.2016: It’s Hard to Be Humble
May 8, 2016 by
My father, the late great Champ Ruffin, would sometimes say, “You know, it’s hard to be humble when you’re as great as I am.” He was kidding. I think. I noticed he never said it when Mama was around.
Connections 05.08.2016: The Struggle for a Grateful Heart
May 1, 2016 by
Bold, shocking, and even offensive to some, Anne Lamott writes about the rawness of the spiritual journey—especially for a person who has lost much, made big mistakes, and still managed to find God in the process.
Formations 05.01.2016: Biding our Time
April 24, 2016 by
On an average day between 6:30am and 7:30am, you’re probably waking up and getting ready for the day. Then you either head to work, run errands, do housework, or take care of others in your home.
Connections 05.01.2016: The Least We Can Do
April 24, 2016 by
I was serving as Interim Pastor of a small church that was blessed to have a very good pianist. She had to be away one Sunday, and a young church member filled in. After the worship service, I was telling the fill-in how grateful I was for her service. She gave me a funny look and said, “Mike, you don’t need to thank me. It’s my church, too.”
Connections 04.24.2016: Rejoicing in the Found
April 17, 2016 by
The story of the prodigal son is one of the most confounding, ridiculous, and beautiful passages in the Bible. I can think of a few headlines that might apply: “Spoiled Rotten Kid Wastes Parents’ Money, Gets Rewarded.” “Father Accused of Enabling Ungrateful Son.”
Connections 04.17.2016: Coming and Going
April 10, 2016 by
There’s a lot of coming and going in this story. Jesus comes by boat to the land of the Gerasenes. As soon as he steps ashore, a demon-afflicted man comes to him.
Crossroads: He Is Risen!
March 28, 2016 by
He is risen! He is risen indeed! Easter is such a wonderful time. The dark, somber mourning of Good Friday has passed and in its place is new life, lots of color, and thankful spirits.
Connections 04.03.2016: Free Indeed
March 27, 2016 by
Something about this story bothers me. Now, I know that slavery was an accepted part of first century Roman culture. But I also know that for a human being to own a human being violates the humanity of both.
Crossroads: Palm Sunday
March 21, 2016 by
I love celebrations. In particular, I love birthdays. I love finding the perfect present and celebrating who that person is. I love my birthday as well, but it’s always a little odd to me.