In the last 15 months it seems like planet earth has been throwing a fit. ‘Mother Nature’ must be experiencing the flu and, when ill, is not a happy camper. If we forget about all the natural disasters that have taken place around the globe prior to Dec. 31, 2009, we would still fill volumes with disasters that have happened since. From January 1, 2010 to today there have been literally dozens of natural disasters around the world; one website listed 31 pages of disasters in 2010 alone. We saw volcanoes erupting in Indonesia and Iceland; 28 major earthquakes in the last 15 months, most notably in Chile, Haiti, and now Japan; major mudslides in China and Uganda killing over a thousand people as they slept; avalanches in Pakistan and Afghanistan; not to mention droughts, hurricanes, floods, wildfires, tornadoes, and typhoons. Our planet is in an upheaval. All of these events have occurred in the last 455 days! Unprecedented events. During this same period of time we have also w

This afternoon I’m sitting behind Roy. He is the pastor of a small church in a small town. Today we are at an annual conference we both attend. Roy is now in his sixties and he is winding down his ministry journey. Sitting directly behind him I notice the back of Roy’s head; he appears to be in need of a haircut. I’ve noticed that, as I age, my hairline recedes and hair sprouts from new places elsewhere on my head. I have come to the conclusion that maturing men don’t actually lose their hair; it simply migrates back into the scalp to later reappear in the regions of the ears and nostrils. Roy’s hair seems to have been doing a lot of migrating lately. I suffer from the same fate. I know Roy because my first year at this retreat I was his roommate. I was randomly placed with Roy in a two-bed room. Roy was in his late forties; me in my late twenties. I was new to this Pastoring thing but had big aspirations. While rooming with Roy for a few days I learned that his ministry

Today, as I sit at my desk, I have a huge grin on my face, my heart is full of joy, my shirt buttons are popping off due to how proud I feel (not how stuffed I am), and there is almost a tear in my eye! I am reading the report of how our congregation gave back this holiday season, how we shared the Lord of Jesus to our community and to one another. Some shared His love through acts of service by volunteering, some by giving gifts to others in need, and some by sharing their hard earned cash to help a stranger or brother in Christ. Here are a few of the statistics I’m looking at: • Christmas Desserts – Over 80 people in the cast and crew… 45 volunteers helped to serve… 1000 people attended, many hearts were changed! • Operation Christmas Child – 425 boxes were collected • Children’s Musical – 33 kids in program… Way to go Wendy, Jeanette, and Lara! • $1358.00 was raised from the Junior High Enchilada sale… these funds bought