What are the characteristics, attributes, and skills that go into the making of a leader? There may well be dozens of items that could be listed allow me to list nine: Honesty/integrity. There is no school to attend, no course to take and no immunization that will make you an honest person. You either are or you are not an honest person. Integrity and honesty are much like oxygen, not…
Read MoreThe Blessing Box
I had dinner with Pastor Aaron Chester and his wife Reagan tonight. I was in Connersville Indiana to conduct his pastoral review. Pastor and Mrs Chester told me about the blessing box ministry that was started by the Gortner Memorial church. The boxes are installed throughout the community. Individuals, congregations, schools, and clubs keep the boxes stocked with food, personal hygiene, and cleaning…
Read MoreDecoration Day! Memorial Day!
This weekend most Americans will celebrate a three-day weekend. Memorial Day began as “Decoration Day” toward the end of the Civil War. People would decorate the graves of both Union and Confederate fallen soldiers. It began being celebrated across the country during WWI. It was not until 1971 that Memorial Day became a holiday. My grandparents always referred to it as Decoration Day. This was the designation it went by…
Read MoreThe Power of Relationships!
Relationships are the building blocks of life and most often a source of disappointment and pain. Our greatest joy and our most profound sadness are usually associated with relationships. Sometimes it is the same person who delivers both joy and sorrow. Through out our lives we all experience relationship problems. It could be a spouse, a child, a friend, an employee, or co-worker or a neighbor.…
Read MoreThen I Met Jesus
Today I installed Todd Reynolds as pastor at the Church of the Nazarene in Morristown. Four years ago I wrote a blog about this town, and church and Byron Carmony. It is all still true today. So this is a blog resisted: Today I preached at our church in Morristown Indiana. Morristown is a town of 1200 people in Shelby County Indiana. There are two…
Read MoreIn the Eye of the Beholder!
God thinks you are beautiful. According to the Psalmist, God believes that Jerusalem is beautiful as well. Is it beautiful for beauty sake, or is it beautiful because God declares it beautiful? God thinks you are special! Why not concentrate more on what He thinks, than what your boss, ex-girlfirend or neighbor thinks? Ps 48:1-14 48 Great is the Lord, and most worthy of praise, in the city…
Read MoreWhats up with Leadership?
I have been interested in the subject of leadership for quite some time. Leadership is something that many aspire to, and the idea seemingly divides the world into two categories, leaders and followers. I am not so sure that is the way it works. Everyone has to exhibit leadership qualities and skills to some degree. Even if you never think of yourself as being a leader. If you are…
Read MoreMore Maxims
A Couple of weeks a go I mentioned t a book I read regarding maxims. Maxims must be no longer than a sentence or two that describes a personal value.It must be no more than a sentence or two. It would be something that when you read it, brings to mind a powerful illustration of an important principle or value. Today I would like to share a few…
Read MoreThe power of a single sheet of paper
Some time ago I read a book that described writing 15 to 20 sentences on a single sheet of paper, the author called this exercise, Maxim’s. The intention of the book was to write these down and look at them every day,and by doing so they would bring meaning and encouragement to me on my daily journey.It seems like it would be an easy process, but it took more time than you might…
Read MoreDo Not Let Your Dream Die!
The most famous speech in the 20th century was delivered by Dr. Martin Luther King. It was entitled “I have a dream.” The impact of that one speech is impossible to overstate, it changed the course of a nation. Never underestimate the power of words or the power of a dream. Words and a dream came together powerfully that day in Washington D.C. Now we may not have the power…
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