2 options

As I see it, there are only two options in life:

1) There is a God who made this world and has a purpose for it;

2) Everything came about by accident and nothing matters.

Which option seems best for you? I honestly can't think of any other option.

It’s one or the other: faith, or despair...meaning or meaningless...hope or futility.

The beauty of this world leads me to believe in a creative God who made us and the world in which we live. I believe we need to seek Him. I believe we can find Him. He's spoken to us--in the Bible. And His fingerprints are everywhere. A nature photographer observed, “Sunsets are God’s final brushstrokes on the beauty of the day.”

Without God, there is no basis for ethics. Why do atheists want there to be no God? So they can be free to do as they like. Without moral absolutes we’re left with personal preferences. But if God exists, it matters what we believe and how we live.

Why I go to church

At a clergy roundtable discussion at Gordon-Conwell Seminary this week, one of the pastors gave an interesting reason why someone in his church decided to start attending his church. The reason: "I've got to find a better story than the one I'm living." I think if we were honest most of us would have to agree that the way we're going about life isn't working. We need a better Way. Our hope isn't found in education, political or economic reform...but in the comfort and direction God offers.

Protesting teachers

This past week, public high school teachers protested their own students who were being honored for their choice to serve in our nation's military at a special assembly. They held up anti-military protest signs, claiming First Amendment privilege...if this was appropriate, then it may well also be appropriate for their students to hold up signs protesting their teachers during class.

Where did she think she was studying?

According to Christianity Today magazine, a Muslim student campaigned to have the phrase "in the Year of our Lord" removed from her diploma, because it referenced Jesus Christ. The school? Trinity University. Maybe her diploma should list the school as "University."

The questions we ask future pastors

Candidates for the ministry go before rigorous Vicinage Councils at which their theological positions are put under a microscope. I've attended two recently and was surprised at how few questions were asked about pastoral ministry. I'm assuming that, with a seminary education and a position paper I've already read, the candidate is doctrinally sound. Any concerns would be raised with their paper (which we don't need to dissect). What I want to know is whether this person is capable of working with people and ready to serve in a church. Most Vicinage Councils seek to determine if the candidate is a theologian. Doctrine matters, believe me, but the reason most pastors quit the ministry is due to a lack of people skills. Plus if the person is wanting to serve as a military chaplain, I have a host of other questions to ask to determine his/her readiness for this unique institutional calling. It is time to re-look the process of examining/appraising those who wish to serve.