Category: Christian Leadership

Christian Leadership, Christianity, Culture, Devotion, Encouragement, Faith, Life

Why We Fast at Lent

Today is Ash Wednesday. It is a day that we remember our morality and our need of God in all things. It also marks the beginning of Lent, which is the season that prepares us for the celebration of Easter.

More than that, however, Lent prepares us to receive the Good News of Christ’s love. One of the ways that we prepare ourselves for Lent is by getting our hearts ready through the spiritual practice of fasting. In fasting, we are giving up something that has control over our lives in order to grow closer to God. Continue reading “Why We Fast at Lent”

Christian Leadership, Christianity, Culture, Devotion, Encouragement, Faith, Life, Public Theology, Sermon

Sunday Sermon: By Serving Others

Back in 2009, I had an opportunity that was an unbelievable privilege. During the season of Lent, I was invited to preach at my hometown church, Perry Memorial United Methodist in Shady Spring, W.Va. I quickly accepted and was humbled by the chance to preach from the same pulpit where some of my favorite preachers stood.

As I look back, I remember feeling some pressure and a lot of temptation leading up to the service. Keep in mind this was the same congregation that saw me running up and down the aisles, stealing microphones as a child, and doing a bad impersonation of a singer during the Christmas cantata. They knew me and I knew them. I felt a lot of pressure to preach an easy message, one that would be easily received by the congregation and would allow me to maintain the “hometown boy does good” status I had earned.

The passage I preached from was not easy. It was from 1 Corinthians 1:18-25, where Paul speaks of the foolishness of the cross. The message I preached became a message that would serve as a centering point for how I try to serve. What I said was that the Gospel and the cross breaks down the barriers we often create and welcomes all people. In a way, that message set up how I have tried to preach ever since. Continue reading “Sunday Sermon: By Serving Others”

Christian Leadership, Christianity, Culture, Public Theology

Living in Hope Not Fear

On March 4, 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt stood in front of an assembled crowd at the U.S. Capitol and took the oath of office to become the 32nd president of the United States. The situation he inherited from outgoing President Herbert Hoover was overwhelming. The economy was still sputtering in the depths of the Great Depression and the stock market crash of 1929. People truly believed the country’s best days were behind it and that the country’s economic despair was the new normal.

There were a lot of reasons for people to have fear. Roosevelt, though, refused to let fear define him.

In his inaugural address, Roosevelt spoke words that would become one of the most quoted lines from his 12-year administration. He said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Powerful words to speak in the midst of an economic crisis, yet words that offered an expression of hope during a time of fear. Continue reading “Living in Hope Not Fear”

Christian Leadership, Christianity, Culture, Devotion, Encouragement, Faith, Life, Sermon

Soul Prayers

One of the television episodes ever, at least in my opinion, is the second season finale of “The West Wing.” The episode was entitled “Two Cathedrals” and centered on President Jed Bartlett, played by Martin Sheen, as he dealt with the presidential crisis surrounding the disclosure of his multiple sclerosis and if he would seek re-election, as well as the death of his long-time assistant, Mrs. Landingham.

Some of the episode’s most moving moments occur at the National Cathedral following Mrs. Landingham’s funeral. The part that is most interesting, for us, comes after the funeral. It is then that Bartlett talks with his chief of staff, Leo, who wants him to return to the White House. Leo wants Bartlett to focus on the final preparations for that night’s press conference where Bartlett would answer questions about his condition and possible re-election. Bartlett, instead, wants a few minutes alone in the sanctuary. Once the cathedral is cleared, Bartlett, a Catholic, begins to express his frustrations towards God. The frustrations focus on the events surrounding his life and if God was punishing him. After a few choice words spoken in Latin, Bartlett walks away from the church, in anger, and returns to the crisis at hand.

For many of us, this is a type of conversation with God we find uncomfortable. We sometimes believe that we’re not to get angry at God, even though there are plenty of examples in Scripture of saints of our faith who expressed their frustrations towards God. We want to believe that God only desires prayers of praise. Part of this is that we believe that if we have hurts, pains, or frustrations that it is an expression of “God’s will” or that we are not strong in our faith.

None of that is true. It is not God’s will for us to experience pains, frustrations, or hurts. It is not God’s will for us to experience evil. God wants us to talk to the Lord about what is going on in our soul. God can handle our pains, our hurts, and even our anger. It doesn’t make us less of a follower of Christ to share these feelings. In fact, our willingness to share and express these feelings towards God is an expression of our desire to seek after the Lord’s own heart. Continue reading “Soul Prayers”