Whatever It Takes

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From Facetime with school teachers to livestreaming worship services, we’ve all been doing whatever it takes to carry on in this new age of social distancing. So many church services started using Facebook Live for the first time in the past couple of weeks they crashed the system. FB apparently didn’t see that coming but they have worked hard to get those archived videos back up. I’ve seen so many posts about how to participate in worship from home as well. Getting up and getting dressed is helpful for working from home and on Sunday morning. If you sing, clap, read along in your Bible and shout “Amen!” it makes worship a group activity and not just a spectator sport. Continue reading →

We Need to Go Back to Church

Screenshot 2020-03-30 at 8.15.12 PMI was listening to the Jimmy’s Table podcast this morning as he interviewed a local Charlotte, NC pastor. They discussed the recent wave of Facebook Live and other video/streaming church services and that brought up a few questions. Will church members go back to church when this is all over? Why send tithes to a church in your city when you could watch a live stream or listen to a podcast from a pastor anywhere?

Here is my response to why we need to go back to church. Continue reading →

Happy Monday

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There has to be more to Happy Monday than scripture, quotations and coronavirus memes. We must not forsake our first love: scripture, quotations and coffee memes.

This is Happy Monday #369.  Continue reading →

Satur-deja Vu

Staying at home, avoiding large gatherings, homeschooling online, streaming movies… we’re all doing pretty much the same stuff right? There is almost nothing else on the news to speak of but let’s see if we can’t find one or two headlines besides covid-19 to review. Continue reading →

Happy Monday

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The goal for this week’s post is to offer something more than a collection of coronavirus memes. But dealing with livestream church services, homeschooling and the slow return of toilet paper to the store aisles are things we all have in common right now and a lot of clever people are posting memes and drawing cartoons. We are literally all in this together. So Happy Monday will have some other things; but also a few of these.

Someday we will look back at this, laugh nervously and change the subject. This is Happy Monday #368. Continue reading →

We Need Something to Push Against

Whether you believe in a literal six day creation week 6,000 years ago or evolutionary processes that took eons, conservative Christians and anthropologists agree that before societies developed humans were hunter-gatherers. During times of plenty the human body stores extra in fat cells, using those reserves in times that are lean. Evolution at work or God’s providence? Since you’re reading a religious blog, and I’m a Baptist preacher, we’re probably on the same page. We probably agree on what happened next. Technology improved, life got easier, and since none of us have to spend the majority of time making sure we have enough to eat we have to go jogging or walk a treadmill to stave off morbid obesity. We are designed for the struggle. When we are provided an abundance, with no hard labor required, we get fat. Continue reading →

Satur-deja Vu

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Yes I take the coronavirus pandemic seriously but humor is one way to process serious things. That moment it takes to process a punch line or understand a pun is a momentary challenge that the mind struggles to understand. Being clever and creative is a healthy way to deal with all this. So, we will try to be positive and upbeat in our review of this past week but honestly there is little else besides the pandemic on the news or in real life. If you have some good news or encouragement share in the comments but I’m not sure about covering a range of topics in this post. Continue reading →

What were the Chances?

371050898276-0_600My friend Dudley and I used to joke about starting a Twitter feed of Things Dudley Says. He sometimes uses words in a sentence then asks me if that’s what he means or in some cases if that’s even a word. One of things we both do, according to my wife, is use the words irony and coincidence incorrectly. So Dudley made up a new word that we both enjoy using. Coincironical, or the adverb coincironically, refers to things that are either ironic, coincidental, or possibly both. We honestly don’t know.

Six months ago I took a part time job. The church I pastor in Plainville, Georgia, had been having only Sunday morning activities for about a year. My other job – driving my friend Dudley to see his clients – had been on the decline and we were both concerned about the possibility of it disappearing completely. I took a part time job at Kroger, expecting to get 20 or so hours a week on a flexible schedule that wouldn’t interfere with my other responsibilities. Continue reading →

Happy Monday

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St. Patrick’s Day will be Tuesday. I’ve been saving this image for weeks, hoping that I didn’t forget about it when the time came. That’s happened before. Some of you may have more time on your hands this week than usual, perhaps not by choice. So why not a longer post than usual to help pass the time? The thing about going through seasons is that they always change. But there will be plenty of time for teachable moments, let’s get this Monday thing on the road. This is Happy Monday #367. Continue reading →

Satur-deja Vu

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The Word of God speaks to us. The Bible is always relevant.

Maybe you’ve seen some of these items this week, or maybe it just feels that way. Welcome to the Satur-deja Vu. Continue reading →