Category Archives: SHARING GOD STORIES

POLLY AND CHLOE.022216

For several years I’ve been writing this book, and after many ups and downs, God let it be published. It’s about discipleship, but it’s not your standard book on the subject. The other day I was at the bank talking to them about opening a new bank account for marketing and promotion of the book, and I was talking to the bank manager and one of the cashiers named Polly. I showed them a copy I just happened to have handy (Ha!). I told them a little about it, and I mentioned that it was available on the Barnes and Noble website on the ‘Net’. I said I had been looking at their website and they had the first 29 pages of the book as a ‘reading sample’. I thought that was pretty cool. They were nice and said they thought it was really neat that I had actually gotten a book published! I said, “Thanks.”

The very next day I was back in the bank, with all my paperwork in hand, to open that new account. I was sitting at the manager’s desk, talking about the particulars, when Polly came up behind me, put her hands on my shoulders, leaned down and whispered in my ear, “I read the first 29 pages of your book, and I really like it. I’ve been thinking for a long time that God wants me to be a missionary, and your book really inspired me.” She walked away. I sat there thinking, “Even if this book never amounts to a hill of beans, God has used it to touch someone’s life.” Praise the Lord! Continue reading →

WHY GO TO CHURCH? 010816

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Had an interesting conversation with a couple of brothers today. One of them, call him Bill, along with his wife, has been searching for a new church home. The church where they had been going for several years was changing. Many of the couples they had relationships with had moved away, changed churches, or otherwise lost contact with them. Several of their friends had gone to one particular church nearby, and they tried that church, but they didn’t like the preachers. The assistant preachers were younger than Bill and his wife, and in their sermons they told stories that were not relevant to Bill’s life.

So for several months (maybe even a year or more) they have been casting about for a ‘new’ church. They have partially settled on a large church in the area (with an auditorium that seats about 3,000 people, which is filled every Sunday morning. They like the preaching. The preachers preach from the Bible and they expect the congregation to participate in application of what is preached to their lives. And one of the primary reasons for their attendance there is that their 17-year-old son knows several kids who attend church there and they’re all actively involved in the church activities. In Bill’s words, “If my son is willing to get up and go to church regularly, then that’s the place for me.” His wife is not yet so enamored of that church, so they have not yet made a commitment to join. But they are going to worship services regularly.

I asked Bill if they were involved in any church activities besides attending worship services, and he said no. He said they don’t say much about personal involvement with small groups in the church. He said if you want to become involved in small groups you can locate them on their website. He said at their old church the pastors spent a good deal of time during the worship services on Sunday morning talking about small groups, where they meet, what they’re into, and what they’re studying. (He even mentioned the “motorcyclists for Jesus” group that meets on Sunday morning before or after church.) He again mentioned that he and his wife had many friends at the church, but they’d all moved away. He said that was a substantial difference between the ‘big’ church and their ‘old’ church. Continue reading →

SMALL GROUPS FOR JESUS 3.111115

SMALL GROUPS FOR JESUS 2.111015

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There are a lot of “small” groups in the world, where people get together on a regular basis. I’ve been a member of a number of them, such as a foursome for playing golf every week. You get to know the guys. You enjoy their company. You tell jokes. You catch up on what’s happening in their world, how they’re getting along with their wives and their kids, their bosses and their employees. In a lot of cases you are closer to them than some members of their own families. And you have the benefit of a little fresh air and a little exercise. (very little) Maybe you have a beer in the 19^th hole.

My mother had a long-standing relationship with a bunch of girls she formerly taught school with. They’d get together and play bridge every week. None of them were championship bridge players, but that wasn’t the point. The reason they got together was to share their lives with each other. When they were down they could call each other on the phone and get a little encouragement. When they were up they could have a special meeting to celebrate. You know it’s a great thing to have a husband and some kids to share your life with, but the girls in the bridge club are an indispensible part of a full life too. There’s just some things you can’t, or don’t want to, share with your husband. LOL Continue reading →