Serve by Design

Our new church is putting to me to work! Upon completing a recent spiritual gift inventory for those interested in membership, it became evident that I have a passion for Bible teaching. So, I have been enlisted to teach a weekly small group this Lenten season on the two Great Commandments of "loving God and loving our neighbors." Then, when the staff found out that I had retired after serving some 45 years in pastoral ministry, they have also invited me to serve as a volunteer on their hospital visiting team. Now, I have been "in the hospital" numerous times over my adult years both as a patient and a visitor. As you might expect, I prefer visiting others over being a patient! My family can attest and have said about me, "He's not very patient being a patient!" After a recent orientation meeting with one of the church pastors, I received my specific assignment to visit fellow members who are hospitalized each Friday. The church's administrative ...

We are on the cusp of another baseball season. Since my elementary school days as a ten-year-old playing on a Little League team, I have loved this sport! However, I have a confession to make. I am now a fan of two major league baseball teams that have been caught cheating! Please allow me to state the obvious at the outset, I do not endorse cheating. It is stupid and unnecessary. It has no place in baseball or life! The Bible is very clear about prohibiting dishonesty of any kind, "You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another" (Leviticus 19:11). Having stated my disdain for cheating, I now want to explain the conundrum of my dual loyalties. I grew up solely following the St. Louis Cardinals and still give my highest allegiance to those "Birds on the Bat!" This is my default and primary preference! Yet, I am fond of the Houston Astros organization due to my fifteen years of residency in the Great State of Texas. I pastored in t...

My wife, Monique is a regular substitute in our local elementary school. After retiring in 2013, having taught for over 22 years, it is not uncommon for her to average teaching in this same building three or four days a week. She loves what she does and is a familiar face to the students in the first through fourth grade classes! The only class she doesn't choose to teach is kindergarten because they are down on the floor much of the day with their activities. Charlie, our enthusiastic kinder, while disappointed, is looking forward to his Mimi teaching him next year just like she has his sister, Chloe and brother, Danny on several occasions! An After-School Grandsons' Hug! As I dropped her off at the front door the other morning, I saw three little girls along with a boy, (probably first or second graders) shouting, "It's Mrs. Keppler!" as they rushed over to give her a group hug! I thought, "Everyone should be so blessed to have this kind of welcoming ...

I should know by now to exercise caution in making plans! I had preached a funeral message and was headed to a friend's house to drop him off when I called Monique to say that I would pick up a loaf of fresh bread for our sandwiches and be home in ten minutes. I also shared with her that we could go out to do some shopping after lunch. However, it would be two hours later before we were sitting down to eat and it would be another hour later, as darkness approached, that we would finally get to the department store for that shopping. What happened? An unexpected interruption to my plans... a flat tire! I was feeling pretty good about my time management that day, but all that boasting evaporated quickly when that sharp object in the roadway cut through my perfectly good right rear tire and  immediately destroyed it upon contact. I don't know how you define luck, but I was about as lucky as they say in Texas as "the guy riding a gravy train with biscuit wheels!" I wa...