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...

Our daughter, Melissa, graduated from SIU-E in 2004 with a degree in Kinesiology. She could have taken that preparation into several related careers: coaching, professional trainer, sports therapy, nutrition/ health education, or other related professions. Melissa chose to focus on being an elementary physical education teacher. Today, she finds it very fulfilling to build “fitness with fun” value into her students. This is her seventeenth year of teaching! Our Coach! Recently, Melissa has taken on the responsibility of coaching her fifth-grade son’s youth league basketball team She would prefer to sit on the sidelines and enjoy the games, but the team could not enlist a volunteer coach and was at the point of canceling the season due to a staffing shortage. So, Melissa reluctantly stepped up. I think her especially athletic son, Karter, had put considerable effort into persuading his mother to step into the vacancy! Even Melissa had to admit, “I think I am probably the most qualified ...

Last week, Monique and I made a trip to Omaha, Nebraska to celebrate with a close friend his retirement from active ministry. It was the second time I had been in this city on the Missouri River in five months. The first occasion was to bring a funeral message for a close friend and former staff associate who had a sudden and untimely passing in April. This time, the reason was celebrative and affirming. Dr. Tim Johnson and I served together in Southwest Houston for five years until he was called to his first pastorate in North Texas. The Johnson's and Keppler's at Tim's Retirement Party, Omaha, NE I had been the lead pastor and Tim was one of our associates. His specific assignment was youth and music, but he served in all areas of pastoral ministry as needed. Tim immediately became an invaluable partner in ministry during our years of service together. He made me a better pastor! I never questioned his loyalty, work ethic, or competency in service. He gave 100% effort to ...

While the football season is heating up this fall and major league baseball is in its October playoffs, basketball is on the minds of many aspiring athletes. Two of our grandsons, Klayton and Danny, have already begun practicing and shooting hoops with their y-ball teams. I spent time getting our home equipment ready this past week. The goal underwent a cursory inspection of the pole, backboard, rim and net. And the balls needed some extra air pumped into them for the Sunday after-lunch practice and play session. There was a lot of enthusiasm and some "trash talk" going on as several grand children and their parents were taking their first shots of the season. I said to Danny on the way home from school this week, "I sure wish Uncle Vernon was still around to put you through a series of ball-handling drills that would have you crying out, 'I'm tired!'" 😏Uncle Vernon, Monique's brother, passed away four and half years ago, but we think of him often a...