Peer Pressure or “Sure, My Baby Sleeps through the Night–How Exactly Do You Define Night?”

“But they, measuring themselves by theselves and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise” (II Cor. 10:12). How often I heard that verse quoted when I was a teenager–when “everybody else” was wearing a certain fashion that I either could not afford or was not allowed to wear, or when “everybody else” was allowed to [...]

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My First Introduction To the Orchestra

Sometimes I get asked, “What sparked your early interest in music?” Although my answer to this question is multi-faceted, one memory stands out. My parents collected old children’s records for me. They bought me a Fischer-Price record player and stacks of records in my room that I was allowed to listen to at my leisure. Even though I [...]

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The Fine Print

A good friend (former member of the 1st Self-Righteous Church of Tennessee) is pondering the perplexing nuances of non-legalistic living. My advice: “Welcome to the real world.” Another friend’s advice: “Thinking for yourself is hard work.” Some folks trade in the simplicity of legalism for the equally simple “do whatever you want” creed. Either approach, [...]

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The Easy Answer

For the egocentric person, the easiest answer is the pluralistic one, because the pluralistic arrangement guarantees the existence of all forms of schools, and because the selfish person is not concerned about the rightness or wrongness of other people’s choices, he smiles tolerantly upon relativity. The ultimate rightness or wrongness of other persons’ choices is [...]

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The World Is Not Too Big

This week I was getting together a quiz and some discussion questions for Lois Lowry’s Number the Stars, and I made an interesting discovery in chapter 10. If you’re not familiar with Number the Stars, it is a beautifully-written and poignant story of a 10-yr. old girl, Annemarie Johansen, living in Nazi-occupied Denmark. Her best friend, Ellen, is [...]

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Uncommunity

A couple of months ago, I got an email informing me that I could view my friend’s wedding pictures if I registered in something called “Facebook.” Now I’m getting emails from people I already know, requesting friendship on “facebook.” I finally caved to cyber-pressure and added a picture of myself.
Are you hooked…on facebook?
Facebook Song

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Born to Be Free

Freedom is the psychological condition of those persons who willingly and joyfully comply with that famework of laws under which they have been consigned to live in order that they may become what they believe they were intended to become. True freedom, that is, freedom in Christ, is the spiritual condition of regenerated man as [...]

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Ouch, That Hurts

How quick we are to apply Scripture–to everybody but ourselves! I was reminded the other day of this tendency of mine when I read the passage in I Peter about not returning insult for insult. I very swiftly examined my own life and decided that, although there are people who struggle in this area, I [...]

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Three Baptisms and Two Babies

Since I have my homepage set to FOX News, I usually get at least a glance each day of what’s going on in the world. Sometimes, in a world where anguish comes by cable, I wish I hadn’t checked. Lately I’ve noticed that the celebrity gossip is now featured on the opening page of important news, right there [...]

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They Had Not Left Everything Behind

It was an odd word: pride. Annemarie looked at the Rosens sitting there, wearing the misshapen, ill-fitting clothing, holding ragged blankets folded in their arms, their faces drawn and tired. She remembered the earlier, happier times: Mrs. Rosen, her hair neatly combed and covered, lighting the Sabbath candles, saying the ancient prayer. And Mr. Rosen, [...]

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What Does “Hallowed” Mean?

A “day of prayer” was held each semester at the college I attended. During my Freshman year, we had to meet in groups with people who shared the same birthday. Since my birthday is in May, I ended up in a room where the meeting was led by Dr. Mark Minnick, a much loved and [...]

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It’s About Time!

Nancy Wilson has finally started a blog. Hooray!

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Friends

This weekend our family enjoyed a visit with Daniel & Jamie Mulfinger and our church enjoyed some special Easter music! Here are our boys at the Opry Mills Hotel shortly before Jeremiah (red pants) went tumbling into the water. Except for emotional trauma, he was unharmed.

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Togetherness

Put simply, there is no true “believing without belonging” in Christianity. Christianity is, by definition, a belonging — a belonging to Christ and a belonging to Christ’s people. Christ’s people, belonging together in local congregations, believe together, hear the Word together, sing together, pray together, hold each other accountable together, grow together, grieve together, celebrate [...]

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Rewards, Punishments, and Happy Meals

Pulpit Magazine has an interesting article about parenting and spanking here. I find it strange that many Christians have joined the anti-spanking campaign for various reasons. Many of these advocates equate punishments, and even rewards, with Skinner-type behaviorism. Since it’s right, and it always sounds great, to focus on the heart, we can start to believe [...]

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