Just kidding. I can’t even remember what I did last summer. What Did You Do Over Summer Vacation? It’s a common question in US schools: “What did you do during summer vacation?” Sixty days of fun! There I was at one of daughter’s homes, enjoying our stay, seven hundred miles away, when I got the call: “Our home air conditioning is not working.” I guess I could have let them roast, or pay a lot of money for a hotel.... Read more
Practical Spirituality Series People are growing very fearful of the power of AI to act as humans and to do harm. Much of this comes from misconceptions. While the danger is real, it is far off, and up to us. I worked in AI, but I don’t know everything about this rapidly advancing field I use daily. Each day I receive images through Pixabay from this very prolific and excellent artist, Gerd Altmann (Geralt). They make me smile. They impress... Read more
Practical Spirituality series Serving the 18 to 35 age group will challenge you to reexamine your traditions of interpretation. LGBTQ interpretation was among the first to fall. If it looks like discrimination, injustice, and exclusivism, Gen. Z will reject it and not come to your church. You may have to rethink not just interpretation, but church itself. The future of the church depends on this group, which recognizes its spiritual needs but is not very religious. My series to address... Read more
Practical Spirituality series One thing I learned doing pastoral visitation is how lonely many people are. Too many lose their spouse or friends, or get injured, and become hermits. Eating is a social function, so they don’t eat. Loneliness is especially rampant among Generation Z. Over fifty-three percent report loneliness. You can have fame, wealth, social media friends and likes, text a hundred texts a day, even have a family, and still be very lonely. Gen. Z is very digitally... Read more
Practical Spirituality series The problem of evil is a question that deeply troubles every generation and, to some, refutes the idea of a benevolent God of love as a logical impossibility. It’s been a subject of philosophy and religion for thousands of years. People dispute the definition of evil. Some include every act that is injurious, while some include suffering itself. Why would a loving and just God allow suffering? “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you... Read more
Practical Spirituality series Getting rid of unnecessary tradition for a fresh start with new generations; Gen Z. Satan is another rich tradition that has developed over the centuries. It gets the blame for everything bad that happens to us. It is an endless aggravation. Really! We need to go back and understand what Satan means. In the hours before his crucifixion, Jesus said in John 12: 31-32, “Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will... Read more
Practical Spirituality series We don’t understand well the role of forgiveness in our lives, and neither do new generations. It’s huge. Ferreting out the basics on the topic of forgiveness is difficult. People have piled mountains of doctrine on mountains of tradition. For example, the Jews had no official doctrine regarding the afterlife. Heaven and Hell (Hades) were myths that came from other religions, namely Greek and Roman. Jesus spoke about them saying an afterlife without forgiveness was like being... Read more
Practical Spirituality series The doctrine of salvation chases many away. The idea of Hell for everyone not a Christian seems grossly unfair, not a reflection of a caring God, and not worthy of God. Many instinctively reject this teaching. So why do Christians insist on this idea and make it a trap for any who get close? Let’s try to come to a full understanding. Clobber verses Many people have excellent memories. A famous comedian (I can’t remember his name)... Read more
Practical Spirituality series How do you minister to the 18 to 30+ age group? Problems and answers. “Get real” is the phrase I would use to describe new generations’ attitude toward spirituality and the church. It’s also the phrase I would use to describe many people’s attitude since around 1900 when the church attendance and membership started to decline as a percentage of the population. Our pastor’s sermon this morning talked about the letter to the church in Sardis, which... Read more
Practical spirituality series. We love to throw contemptuous words at each other, branding others as being disapproved of or unacceptable. Soon a word becomes a symbol of everything we hate and everything we hate gets lumped in. We hate everything not like us. We like black and white and easy thinking, so shades of difference become something to hate. Yet we are predominantly similar despite minor differences. Argh! Only two categories exist for being and behavior. Behavior that represents a... Read more
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