Spiritual Abuse in the Church Today

What Is Spiritual Abuse? It’s called by different names:  spiritual abuse, church hurt, religious trauma.  But regardless of its label, its consequences can be catastrophic.  Switching churches provides a change of scenery but often does little to bring healing, so victims sit and suffer in silence.  For others, the experience is so painful that it … Read more

Are You Ready?

Nowhere To Go? This weekend we had a really nice visit with some family members.  One of them was Aunt Theresa.  She’s my wife’s aunt (does that make her my aunt-in-law?) Anyway, we asked if she could stay for a bit, and her response was, “I’ve got nowhere to go and all day to get … Read more

Your Place At The Table

Where I Was Sitting The other day I was reading my Bible, as I do every morning.  I have a daily reading plan from Our Daily Bread Ministries that I follow, which takes me through the entire Bible in a year.  To add some variety, each year I use a different Bible translation, and this … Read more

A Smile Can Change Everything

Is A Smile Your Style? Remember the musical “Annie”?  It tells the story of an orphan during the Great Depression, a time when there certainly wasn’t much to smile about.  One of the highlights is a musical number titled “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile.” The chorus goes, “Who cares what they’re wearing on … Read more

Reflections on Retirement

What Should I Do? Shortly before Covid hit in 2020, I began thinking about retirement.  I’d been working for decades in children’s ministry, teaching in a Christian school and Sunday School and VBS, and I was getting tired.  My energy level and my patience were not what they once were (and if you know anything … Read more

You Are Significant!

  Who I Am In Christ Series, Part 7 If you have been following this series, I hope by now you realize that as God’s creation, you are something special.  I struggled with this for many years.  Even though I was a born-again, Spirit-filled Christian, I believed that I was flawed and incomplete.  Because of … Read more