Wrightly Dividing the Truth

Rev. Jeremiah Wright's Hermeneutics

Note -- I think Wright is Wrong on a number of important issues --however, I found this piece on his preaching quite interesting.

A couple of other observations. A few weeks ago, I watched a Larry King interview about Obama's relationship with his pastor.

"Do you attend the church regularly?" King inquired.

"Yes" answered Obama, "In spurts."

As a pastor, I understood that statement. I have a lot of people who "come regularly in spurts."

Finally, a word of comfort and challenge for the preachers in light of the Wright fiasco -- What you say from the pulpit DOES make a difference after all!! If YOUR people were judged by what YOU say, what would the verdict be??

Opportunity

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work."
-- Thomas Edison, Inventor

Backsliding Preachers

Preachers are as liable to backslide as any other class of men. When they do backslide in heart, they often become extremely dangerous.

-- B. T. Roberts (Founder of the Free Methodist Church)

Vision Sunday

Hayward Wesleyan Family,

Each year, at this time, we stop and look at where we've been, where we are, and where we're headed.

I'm breaking away from Ephesians this week, and will be speaking from Isaiah 40 (NKJV.) You can read it by clicking here. Note, specifically verses 28-31.

A highlight of the morning will be showing the video of Last Year's Baptism. You can see the previous year's video by clicking here.

We are going to be singing something old and something new:
1. "Nothing But the Blood/ I Stand Amazed"
2. "You Never Let Go"

We will also be receiving nine new members and commissioning two missionary couples: David and Leah Teran to Mexico, and Ryan and Heather Reissner to Camp Forest Springs. Heather will share her Faith Story.

The service will conclude with receiving Communion together.

It's going to be a powerful Sunday morning. You won't want to miss it!

Old Skins

Sometimes snakes can't slough. They can't burst their old skin. Then they go sick and die inside the old skin, and nobody ever sees the new pattern. It needs a real desperate recklessness to burst your old skin at last. You simply don't care what happens to you, if you rip yourself in two, so long as you do get out.
-- D. H. Lawrence

If You Think You Can

I once heard my friend, John Maxwell, say, “Your attitude determines your altitude.” How true that is!!

When you boil it down, just about everything in life is related to attitude. Did you know that a poor attitude is the number one reason why people are dismissed from their jobs? Do you realize that attitude is the primary difference between mediocre football teams and Super Bowl contenders? Do you understand that your success in marriage, work, and living depends largely on your attitude? Quality of life is not measured by what happens to you - but by how you respond.

As Helen Workman said, "It's not what you have to meet, it's how you meet what you have."

A doom -and -gloom pessimist will find problems in every possibility. An optimist will see the opportunities in every obstacle. A set-back is a dead end to a pessimist. For an optimist it is only a detour. A pessimist longs for the "good old days", while the optimist believes that the best is yet to come. Pessimism drains energy and shrivels the soul. Optimism, on the other hand, brings refreshing hope and enthusiasm.

Pessimists criticize and complain about people. Optimists use their words to encourage and inspire.

The pessimist declares, "The sky is falling!" The optimist says, "The sky's the limit!"

An anonymous bard penned these words almost a century ago:

If you think you are beaten, you are.
If you think you dare not, you don't.
If you like to win, but think you can't
It's almost certain you won't.
Life’s battles don’t always go to the stronger or faster man;
But soon or late the man who wins is the one who thinks he can.

Make That a Diet Coke!

Instead of blaming India and other developing nations for the rise in food prices, Americans should rethink their energy policy and go on a diet
-- Herald Tribune article quoting Pradeep Mehta (Secretary General of CUTS Center for International Trade, Economics and Environment)

Evangelical Manifesto

Too often, "evangelical" has been widely used to label and stereotype people of faith. I consider myself an evangelical -- but don't always "fit neatly inside the box" "Representative" evangelicals in television news interviews (both left and right) rarely represent my perspective.

That's why I was delighted with the release of The Evangelical Manifesto. These guys are speaking my language.

Stumbling onto Truth

Some people stumble over the truth and then get up, dust themselves off, and go on their way.

-- Winston Churchill

Clue Management

Clue management is the practice of reading between lines and detecting trends.

-- Michael Kami

Thoughts on Communication

Communication is to love what blood is to the body. When it comes to a halt, love dies, as resentment and bitterness set in.

The ancient prophet, Amos, asked the rhetorical question, "Can two walk together except they be agreed?"

Bob, walking by his neighbor's house, saw him struggling with a couch halfway in the front door. He walked up to his friend and asked, "Hey Fred, need a hand?"

"Sure!" came the reply, "I'm glad you stopped by. This has been a real challenge,"

So, he grabbed the end of the couch and started pushing -- but it wouldn't budge an inch. For about twenty minutes, both men struggled and strained as hard as they could, but made absolutely no progress.

Finally, dropping the couch from exhaustion, Bob said, "You know, Fred, this is just crazy! I can't understand why it's so hard for us to get this couch into the house."

"Into the house??" Fred replied, "I've been trying to push it OUT of the house!!"

When we don't communicate we, we often end up working against each other. You can't walk together unless you're going the same direction.

None of us are mind readers, so the only way to go the same direction is through clear, loving communication.

Doesn't communication cause fights? What if the things I need to communicate are hurtful? Isn't it better to just shut up and bear it?

Certainly, unwise and thoughtless communication can cause fights, but the LACK of communication causes far more fights -- a hundred times more! It's better to communicate even the unpleasant things, rather than bottling them up inside, if you want your relationship to thrive.

The secret here is to practice the fine art of "disagreeing agreeably." This is mostly a matter of keeping a right attitude and sweet spirit as you deal with challenging issues.

All relationships require give and take. Great relationships require GIVE and GIVE!

1) Give In. You don't have to always get your way to be happy. Sometimes, the best and most loving thing is to submit to the other person's point of view.

2) Give More. Can you give more love, attention and energy to this relationship? Make it your aim to outdo one another in love.

3) Give Way. Allow the other person some latitude.

But Don't Give Up!! You can't love somebody deeply until you've been through some difficult times together. Don't quit when times are tough. Instead, dig in deep together, and discover the riches of love.

Farewell Dottie Rambo

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mom's Day!

An elementary school teacher was teaching a science lesson to her class one day. Describing a magnet, she said, "Class, I'm thinking of a word with six letter, starts with 'M' and picks things up. Can you guess what it is?"

Half the class shouted, "MOTHER!!!!"