Serve by Design

I am out of my skill set when it comes to anything electrical! I feel a lot more comfortable with tools like wrenches, ratchets, and pliers. Those are the instruments of automobile mechanics like my dad and brother that are used every day in their shop. I have shied away from wiring, outlets, breakers, and the like. One reason is that it’s no fun getting accidentally shocked, and I have had that unpleasant experience! However, occasionally, I will venture out of my comfort zone and engage in a “Do It Yourself” small electrical project. Yesterday was one of those occasions! I have changed out duplex outlets a few times in the two houses we have owned over the last 36 years. That morning, I had told the local hardware store salesman who sold me the outlet and a lamp socket too, (for another project), “I am not comfortable with this kind of stuff, but I can follow my nose!” In other words, I can see what the old one looked like and then replicate what I see to reconnect the new one. As a ...

I heard a father speaking with pride about his son the other day. It’s not uncommon for a parent or grandparent to speak about his family with joy and delight! I should know because I am a shameless “doting grandparent!” This father is a church leader who remarked quite loftily that his fourteen-year-old had taught him “more about the Kingdom and every moment being holy” than any other person he knew! What may or may not surprise you is that this man’s son was developmentally disabled with Down syndrome. Kindness and Inclusion! Image credit: nicepng.com The Centers for Disease Control estimate that about one in six children (about 17%) in the United States today, ages 3 through 17 years have one or more developmental disabilities. I can speak fondly of several special needs children, youth, and adults. We were blessed in every church where I have served to have these special individuals included among us. I also have a beloved, adult-aged niece who is challenged in this way. I can say ...

During forty-five years of fulltime active ministry, I planned and/or participated in numerous “guy events” that involved lay and clergy training, inspiration, and fellowship. In an effort to anchor these occasions in some of the memories of my readers, I will list just a sample of the settings, The camp-times would include Riverbend (Glen Rose, TX), Trinity Pines (Trinity, TX), Lake Sallateeska (Pinckneyville, IL) and Emmanuel (Astoria, IL). There were other retreat settings that included a ranch house First Baptist owned (Houston, TX), the Lady of the Snows Catholic facility (Belleville, IL), and the Assemblies’ Lake Williamson (Carlinville, IL). Truthfully, the additional places and occasions were too numerous to list! Image credit: depositphotos.com I have so many special memories where my relationship with friends and church leaders was deepened through guy-gatherings that often involved evening fish fries, cooking breakfasts over a modest cook-stove, and sleeping (or trying to!) ...

The idea of spiritual renewal has been on the minds of many believers in the wake of the recent outbreak of revival on the campus of Asbury University that began February 8th. The Asbury outpouring is still reverberating throughout the community and beyond after two weeks of non-stop prayer meetings that started in an after-chapel prayer service and spontaneously continued on. Photo credit: pixabay.com Driven by social media posts and live streams, estimates are that some 50,000 individuals descended upon the college campus and Willmore, Kentucky, with a population   of only 6,000 residents! Students came from more than 260 colleges and universities to pray alongside those on the Asbury campus. Many of those arriving on the scene were hungry to see what God was doing in that setting and hoping it would be replicated in their lives, churches, and communities. I had "a taste of revival" at the Second Baptist Church of Marion, Illinois in 1972. I was serving on staff as a summ...

Monique has just completed a two-and-a-half-day stint with a fourth-grade class. She likes the continuity of substituting in the same class consecutively! This assignment was a bit more challenging though. She was required to teach a math-measuring, specifically geometry, exercise using a protractor. During her twenty-two years in the classroom before retirement, she taught her second graders mathematical concepts on many occasions. However, the math that fourth graders are doing these days looks a lot more like what was done in high school back in the day! Image credit: pixabay.com It's a good thing we have a family math expert in one of our daughters who majored in the subject and taught high school math for 14 years. Michelle usually gets a call for assistance when mother is faced with questions about obtuse and acute angles, tangents along with various geometric shapes. As you can imagine, this is quite “above her pay grade” as an elementary school substitute. This time the dau...