Serve by Design

Did you hear about the skunk who went to church? He had his own pew! I know, I hear some of your sighing, “That’s not even funny!” Blame this bad joke on my desperate attempts to surf online for something lighthearted about church pews. How about this? What do you get when you cross a shark with a skunk? The answer is - as far as way as possible! But that’s not my goal! Image: adobe.stock.com On a serious note, I have been trying to get folks to sit in the same pew each Lord’s Day. And if the church uses individual chairs, I’m encouraging folks to sit in the same area. I recently made this audacious remark from the pulpit during our traditional service, “These are my people!”   I said this as I pointed to where my wife was sitting with a group of Sunday morning friends, and then added, “That’s the pew we are purchasing!” I have been emboldened by this suggestion to sit in a certain proximity because of a dear couple in our church who modeled this for years. And it paid dividends...

A recent long day of travel home from Albuquerque involved a connecting flight to Chicago. As we landed at Midway, we were tired, hungry and ready to be at our final destination in St. Louis. Little did I know that "a chance encounter" would make the day a lot more enjoyable! We had drawn a good boarding number in the A section and the six of us were standing in the area where lines form before heading down the jetway into the aircraft. Matt and I looked at an athletically built young man and thought we recognized him but couldn’t say how or where. Number 21's Autograph! Go Noooooot!! I happened to be standing next to him in line and immediately noticed he was watching the Friday night Cardinal’s game on his cell phone. That gave me a clue. I boldly asked, “Sir, are you with the organization?” He answered, "Yes. I'm a player." I then pressed, “May I ask, who?” And he readily responded, “Lars Nootbaar.” No sooner had the name come out of his mouth, Matt hande...

Everywhere I go these days, I am reminded of my age! It started years ago after turning fifty at a time when I was beginning to leverage that membership card from the organization that advocates for senior adults! I was being offered the "senior discount" at the local donut shop and other eateries without asking for it. It had me wondering, "How did they know I had just got my senior membership card?!" I soon realized that I was "showing my age" as we say, but it wasn't because I was carrying a plastic senior card in my wallet. Rather, it was because, "I was showing my age!" Literally! In my fifties, my hair was turning gray like my mother's! And, my shoulders were rounding so that I was slumping even more with each passing year. Why is it that we always seem to blame our parents or genetics for these developmental changes? Photo credit: Charles Deluvio unsplash.com/s/photos/aging Anyway, I shouldn't have been surprised the ot...