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Get Involved!

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The men’s ministry at Springfield First recently hosted a Saturday morning breakfast with guest speaker and retired Sacred Heart-Griffin Coach, Ken Leonard. Coach Leonard has distinguished himself in the forty-two seasons of his overall career. He has led his teams to 419 wins compared to 81 losses. This makes Coach Leonard the winningest coach in the history of Illinois sports! During his inspirational remarks, Leonard shared a three-step coaching philosophy that he follows, “ Tell your team players what you want. Then, show them what you want. Finally, involve them in practices or exercises that demonstrate what you want.” Involved and All Set! Image: istockphoto.com I grew up with a contrasting model at school that overly emphasized that first step of “tell.” This approach is what I prefer to describe as “Sit still while I instill!” We were expected to stay in our seats! There was no group work or active participation. We didn’t know enough and couldn’t be trusted enough to get u
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"Looks Can Be Deceiving!"

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Recently, I returned from a three-day trip with both sons to Minneapolis. We were there to watch our beloved Cardinals play the Twins at beautiful Target Field with its unique limestone facade and mid-tier wooden fold down seats. What a great venue and energized baseball setting! During this short flight up and back, we were surprised to find that Delta had outfitted their planes with several amenities and on-board enhancements. Yes! This is for "plug and play!" These are the conveniences most air travelers expect these days:   Wi-Fi, monitors for movie and television viewing, and charging outlets conveniently within reach. We should have known that with so many of us using our devices like laptops, smartphones, iPads, and wireless earbuds that these changes were going to be routinely implemented no matter what the destination or size of the aircraft! But we did have an issue with the outlet below the seat in front of us. It didn’t look like a standard outlet, but it was! W
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Good Screen Time!

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How many times recently have you heard someone disparage technology? Parents, schools, and employers regularly monitor the use of cell phones. Even our smartphones are programmed to calculate daily screen time and post the results on our home pages. The government is also concerned that certain platforms are being used to steal personal identities or track citizen movement. Some of this caution is justified because there are innumerable “bad actors” out there who are engaged in nefarious activities and disruptions. Daily, we read or hear about security breaches! Image credit: clipart-library.com Cybersecurity is one of the fastest growing industries today. A recent study revealed that there are 3.4 million cybersecurity jobs in the workforce. The number of college bachelor students seeking a degree in cyber engineering doubled from 3500 to over 7000 between 2018 and 2022! It is understandable that we should exercise some vigilance in the use of technology and avoid bad screen time. T
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Take Some Down Time!

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One of my most interesting   and gratifying part-time occupations, as a retired pastor, is the weekly engaging of truck drivers. I am employed as a workplace chaplain serving several clients in different settings. One, for example, is a national food distribution company. My job is to reach out to over-the-road professional drivers by phone in real-time each week. I do my best in these chaplain-to-driver conversations to offer them encouragement and a listening ear to their joys and concerns. Hooray for downtime! image: png.com Most of these chats occur while the guys are driving and are usually short (3-5 minutes) in duration of necessity. However, occasionally, the calls become longer depending on the need. Sometimes their spouses and family members are included. I especially enjoy these because I seem to get more out of the men when their wives are listening and participating! During summer months, it is common to have these workplace friends to pick up the call, even when they ar
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"Come As You Are!"

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Our sons and their families have been on a recent mini vacation in Corpus Christi, Texas. Just the other evening at twilight, they discovered a unique setting for a church. The First United Methodist Church is uniquely situated right on the bay just yards from the beach and gulf waters. While our grandson was Face Timing me the discovery at the water’s edge, his dad was sending a video of the whole experience while standing alongside of him on the sandy beach. The scene was picturesque to look up to this beautiful church across the street. This inviting portrait of the church spire in the evening silhouette of the setting sun would have made a great postcard or publicity piece! Church on the Beach! No kidding! I am sure that there was a calculated and strategically planned intention behind the choice of the location for this large church. In thinking about it, my mind went crazy with the possible promotional slogans for the church’s ad campaign. First, there was the “realtor’s promo” o
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Be Creative to God's Glory!

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Have you ever used MacGyver as a verb? If you have watched the popular television series, MacGyver, (1985-1992, 2016-2021) you would know what I mean. The term, “to MacGyver something,”  comes from the ingenuity of the lead character in the series who had an extraordinary gift for problem solving. The term. as a verb. has made its way into popular culture for anyone with an uncanny talent for fixing things from resources, often meager, and on hand! Another similar term for this creative ability to improvise is “Jerry-rigged.” There is a difference though between a duct tape solution, excellence, and innovation! Jerry-rigged, but it works! 😁 The opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics this week was an incredible display of artistic creativity and dazzling talent. In one of the most beautiful of settings along the famed Seine River the dance artists were kicking up their heals in puddles of water as the rain poured down. There were explosions of color from the decorated natural structure
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Stop Ignoring the Weeds!

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We recently had a special ministry event at the church. Members prepared and delivered a quick lunch to some of our community’s first responders. After I had gone throughout the building scoping out the preparations and chatting up some of the servers, I headed home. As I reached the entrance and exit drive just off the parking lot, I saw an unusual sight. The job's not done yet! 😒 Image: png.com I thought at first that one of our pastors was trying to move a very large rock that was in the median all by himself. I stopped, rolled down my window, held up my phone and said, “Now that’s a pic for my next blog!” I had misunderstood the situation! The pastor laughed and explained that he was pulling weeds, while stationed at the church entrance to direct visitors toward the event serving area. I set my four-way flashers and got out of the car to chat with him for a little while about those pesky weeds. We commiserated together about the copious amounts and different kinds of weeds t
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