Transitional Ministry

I’m Sorry

I don’t know how you feel about the relationship between bloggers and the bloggers who follow their blog but to me it is a friendship that is formed around the love of God and the love of writing. I look at those who follow my blog not only as friends but as brothers and sisters in Christ. I see the relationship we have formed as a loosely followed handshake agreement to meet up on the pages of each other’s site to read the newly posted material. Am I glad there is not written contract as I would be in breach and in danger of some form of penalty. I’m sorry I have not lived up to my side of the agreement!

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A Little Understanding – Love Outwards and Inwards

How different would the parable of the Good Samaritan be today? If Jesus was asked in your country, “Who is my neighbor?” by someone claiming to follow Christian values, would the story be the same? I will take a chance and make changes to this well-known parable. I do not claim to know for a fact how Jesus would answer if He were physically walking the streets of your city or town and was asked this question. All I can say is my observations would lead me to believe that the following parable would not be out of line in Western culture and much of the developing world.

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A Little Understanding – Love Upwards

We, as Christ followers, aren’t so good at loving God fully and completely. If we aren’t so good at it, then the collective of Christ followers must suffer from the same flaw. Did you know that loving God completely is actually part of our nature? God created us that way, and until a piece of fruit and a slithering tempter altered the path of history, that’s the way it was. God created human beings different from other beings. Humans are created in the image of God and are able to think and make choices. Inside this creation was the longing to be tied to God. Outside of it was the sense that…

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A Little Understanding – The Footings

People often ask, “Why does life suck?” For those who find the language offensive, please forgive me, but it wouldn’t be a quote if I tried to soften it. Pastors may use more carefully chosen words, replacing the offensive ones and reworking the question this way: “Why is everything a struggle at my church?” I would never go as far as to say the solution to life sucking or a struggling church is Proverbs 3:5-6, but I can say the solution to navigating through these times is not in your hands, your strength, or how you understand things. The solution lies in letting God take over, and He will plot the course. He will carry the weight. “He will make your paths straight.”

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Jenga™ and Jesus

Alliteration is a great tool to get people to take notice but in this case putting Jesus and the popular game Jenga™ in the same sentence may do much more.  Because of this, I believe I should make a few things clear. I have not found any scriptures that lead me to believe that Jesus played Jenga™. I do not believe that Jesus has or ever will promote the game Jenga™. I do not believe that following Christ requires the playing of Jenga™. Lastly, and probably most important, just because I am using the name of the popular game Jenga™, doesn’t mean that I am promoting the game Jenga™, nor am I under any obligation to mention the game Jenga™, and I do not receive any money or other benefits from using the name of the popular game Jenga™ over and over again in this blog – but I should!

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