Serve by Design

Recently, I had two special blessings. The first was on a Sunday as we gathered for worship in the church where our grandsons, Charlie (12 yrs.) and Dawson (10 yrs.), attend. These boys had made their public professions of faith over the summer at separate events. For Charlie, it was at a camp experience, and for Dawson, it was during Bible school. On this day, their dad, Dan, conducted the ceremony of believer’s baptism. In our tradition, any candidate for baptism must have first accepted Christ as Lord and Savior before baptism. Thus, it is called “believer’s baptism.” We believe that baptism symbolizes and celebrates a person’s inward, personal decision to follow Christ through the outward picture of their baptism. Retreating for Rest & Reflection! The baptismal formula that I have affirmed throughout my pastoral ministry involved saying these words over each candidate who entered the baptismal pool, “In obedience to the command of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And upon you...

Karter Andrew, our seventh grade and handsome second-born grandson, lives with his parents, an older brother, and a little sister in beautiful New Mexico. He loves sports, pestering his siblings, and enjoys chasing around all five of the household dogs! Karter recently made an interesting observation. He asked his dad, “Have you noticed that when you call Sophie (the family’s six-year-old Golden Doodle), the other dogs follow her?” His dad, Reece, replied, “That’s FOMO,” and you know what that means! Karter admitted, “I actually don’t!” (I also agreed!) Reece explained, “FOMO is an acronym for the “Fear Of Missing Out!” Follow the Leader! This abbreviation is short for a mental and emotional state that arises from being anxious about what might be going on around a person due to non-involvement. I cannot tell you how often this simple question, “What are you doing?” has come up in day-to-day family life. You will hear this inquiry coming from a curious, and in many instances, a younger...