Pastor Tony Evans delivered a powerful message to us men on the Mall, October 4th, 1997 in Washington D.C. The event was Promise Keepers’ “Stand in the Gap”. He spoke of how a “messed up man will produce a messed up family that will produce a messed up church that will result with a messed up neighborhood that will cause a messed up city that will bring about a messed up county that will result in a messed up state that will reside in a messed up country that will bring about a messed up world! So if we want a better world, to be composed of better countries inhabited by better states made up of better counties that are composed of better cities inhabited by better neighborhoods, illumined by better churches, made up of better families, we got to go home better men!”
Our dog takes us for a walk every night. In fact, if I am not outside putting his leash on by 9:00, he knocks on the door to get my attention! My bride and I have enjoyed those nightly walks over the years. When the kids were at home, walking was “our time” to discuss the day, what the kids were facing and what issues were percolating. With the kids grown, it is still “our time” to connect on things that happened across the day or are on the horizon.
The primary benefit of walking for us is emotional – a time of winding down and tuning in. We had no idea that the physical benefit of a 3 mile loop could be so impactful. A recent study ...read on
The bride and groom made a beautiful couple. I congratulated them and said, “You guys are going to be great parents!” To my shock, they responded in unison, “Why would we want to bring children into this messed up world?” I gave them what I know were great responses but the atmosphere was toxic over the status quo in the world. Finally, I pointed them to a Billy Joel song that reflected on a history of troubled times. After they googled “Billy Joel”, the song got their attention.
The catalyst behind the song, “We Didn’t Start the Fire” was ...read on
Pete was not impressed. Even as a young boy, an altar boy, he witnessed lay leaders doing church. A couple of men would do their turn at the readings during Mass religiously but all Pete would see was their bloodshot eyes. Repeatedly these men would follow a Saturday night binge with doing church on Sunday. Was church simply a check on one side of the ledger to offset an indiscretion on the other side of the ledger?
Doing church was not for Pete and he stayed clear of churches for a number of years. As a young father he decided to ...read on
Pete was not impressed. Even as a young boy, an altar boy, he witnessed lay leaders doing church. A couple of men would do their turn at the readings during Mass religiously but all Pete would see was their bloodshot eyes. Repeatedly these men would follow a Saturday night binge with doing church on Sunday. Was church simply a check on one side of the ledger to offset an indiscretion on the other side of the ledger?
