Intersections

    Introduction      Most of you know that my background has been in the legal field. I earned my bachelor’s degree in public affairs from IPFW, including political science, philosophy, and public policy classes. One of my classes was specifically in law & philosophy. At the time, I thought I was a hot shot, wanting to discuss what my books and classes were discussing. But now - not only can I not remember it, but I’ve also learned over the years… no one cares. This is unfortunate because we have so many laws; we should figure out why they exist. Right?        The Purpose of Laws      So - in my opinion, laws are made - whether they’re religious, natural, or legislated laws - really, what we’re doing here is regulating relationships, how things relate to one another. For example, a law on the books says it’s illegal to fish with your bare hands. Not sure how that one came about, but… it’s real. You may be wondering what ki...

Have you ever met a polar bear? I don’t mean one of those giant furry things that you can see at the zoo in Columbus or other places. I mean - a person who willingly flings themselves into a body of water on the 1st day of January, regardless of the temperature? I have to admit, I’ve thought about doing it - to engage all my senses; momentarily feel a little more alive. Let’s be honest, frostbite doesn’t look good on anyone!   But when those crazies are in the water, what might they tell their onlookers? “Come on in, join me - the water’s fine!” Just because they’re freezing doesn’t mean they’re not having a good time. It’s all a matter of perspective. And maybe that’s how it looks on the outside to non-churchgoers. Ask someone to join you for church, and if you don’t know that person particularly well they may raise an eyebrow at you and wonder if they should call someone to take you home. It’s not the standard that it used to be - I’m gonna say something you might disagree with...

  In our journey through the lectionary texts, it brings us to this passage in Isaiah, which I’m not sure if it would normally stand out on its own, but here we are.   We have brief words of thanksgiving from Isaiah, which seems appropriate today in all of our reflections we may be having about the year that was and the year we want to have. You may have had this week off of work, and are gearing up to return, and this week between Christmas and New Year’s is kind of time without structure, or liminal time. It just passes without any real organization.  I wish it had been like that for me this week. As some of you know, my uncle died on Christmas Eve. I was planning to spend this week with Ali & Aaron, but I also knew that I needed to make the journey to see my uncle’s funeral. So I caught a ride with my parents and off to Wisconsin we went.  But as I was traveling to a place where I had gone so many times as a child, lots of those memories came back. I had...

What are you looking forward to doing tonight? Hopefully, this is the highlight of Christmas Eve for most of you. I know it is for me. I am blessed to be worshipping and celebrating the birth of our Lord & Savior, Jesus Christ. After the service, my family and I will go to Tadj’s cousin’s house to visit with family we don’t see as often as I think we would like. We’ve packed the kids’ pajamas, so we know we’ll leave late. Those kids need to get into bed once we get home because you know who will stop by.  We’ve been preparing for weeks, and now here we are. I hope tonight lives up to all the ads which have been touting how you’re supposed to feel on Christmas. I hope you’re warm (especially tonight) and loving, even if your wallets are empty. Tonight is a night for peace and joy.  Several years ago, when Aaron was just a baby, we went through Franke Park for the light display. But we went on Christmas Day, at five o’clock, right after it got dark - or maybe it was seven. B...

  It seems strange to be talking about “Making Change” by using the Old Testament. We’re New Testament people, right, and Jesus and the power of His Holy Spirit are the change agents in our lives. So? What’s with this message series rooted in the writings of Solomon? Well, think about it. In his day, Solomon was not only considered the wisest man in the world, but he was also the richest man in the world. I’ve always believed if we want to be successful in life, we should watch successful people. If you want to be good at basketball, watch what Michael Jordan does (well, maybe Steph Curry these days). We’ll probably never be NBA players, but we can learn from the best to make ourselves better. If it works that way in other areas of life, why not with our money. Solomon used his wisdom and increased his wealth. We ought to learn from him, and Solomon, in his collected wisdom says: Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything. 25 The generous will prosper; t...