Church Drains: The Epidemic of the Worthless Servant Pt. 1

Imagine you find a church you enjoy....the music is pretty good and the preaching is awesome...it's probably your fourth or fifth time going...you pile up the kids, remembering that your occasionally hyperactive 7 year-old invites his occasionally hyperactive 7-year old friend...so he comes too...but you're cool because the children's church is good as well...aaaaannnd you get there to find there's no children's church this Sunday.  It turns out that of the 5,000 members that attend, the church couldn't scrape together 20 that could replace the usual 20 that serve in that ministry...every Sunday...for uncountable consecutive number of Sundays.  That team had been wanting to take a break since last year, but they couldn't because there were no replacements.  They did all they thought was necessary to solicit help in the children's ministry.  But out of the large number of teachers and daycare workers that attend that church, none of them felt the need or desire to serve.  You start to feel bad...and then judgmental.  Thoughts like, this big church can't keep a children's thing going and how they gonna just leave parents hanging like that swarm through your head.  And these thoughts must be heavy, too; because never did you think that in the 20 years of you going to church(es) you haven't even asked if anyone needed any help.

The Mirage of Pain: How Social Media Discredits Social Issues

Domino's Pizza, 2-liter sodas, tossed salad, and a mix of Generation Xers and Millennials.  About 30 of us packed in a warmly lit room to just...talk.  The organizer asked for everyone to write down a topic on a torn piece of paper and toss it in the "bucket of discussion" for breakdown and evaluation.  Yep, you guessed it, police brutality was near the top of the pile.  Unlike the other topics that were approached with slight anxiety, this one was jumped on with force.  I wasn't at all surprised by the cliche-esque nature of the conversation...we were all African-American and mostly female (sorry...not sorry).  But I was a little frustrated by it.  I'd been seeing it all day on Facebook from these VH-1 groupies-turned-activists, and I was about filled up with the "my heart is so heavy" and "I have no words (right before a 17 sentence paragraph)" post.  So before a you guys can't be serious flew out of my mouth, I stopped the convo and asked how many people in the room had been brutalized (not harassed) by the police.  Out of 30 only myself and another young lady raised our hands.  The conversation turned into a lesson after that point.

The 21st Century Family: Does Gender Translate into Love

My late grandmother showed me throughout the years what possessions were really designed to do.  Cars and homes weren't only for a persons' personal desires and needs, they were (or at least should be) used to help others.  I kept this philosophy when I purchased my first home by allowing two families and another individual to live there with me during different times.  It was far more rewarding than I could fathom at the time, and there are some benefits I'm still reaping from...one of which being a better understanding of the modern family.  I myself grew up in what would be considered traditional family; two parent household, both parents working, everything is everything.  This wasn't an exception in my neighborhood, although I had several friends coming from one-parent homes.  Back then, those families would've earned the non-traditional label.  That label is changing, though.  And now the "non-traditional" tag is moving to yet another demographic of people.  I was able to view this first hand.

Christian Wealth: The Intended Goal of Influence

Whenever a political conservative makes the statement that the United States needs to get back to it's Christian roots, I quickly think of this quote from Thomas Jefferson in a letter he wrote to the Danbury Baptist Association:

"Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between Church and State."

Christian Wealth: Make it Personal

Every year on the Friday before Easter, the church I attend has an evening event called Project G.O.O.D.  It serves for several purposes, with the more promoted reason being that all church members and partners can come together and assist the ministry in satisfying the debts of its creditors.  The biblical foundation of this event is pulled from two main places in biblical scripture (although arguments supporting it can be found throughout the Bible): Luke 6:38 and 1 Chronicles 29.  If you're familiar with Luke 6, you can understand why this scripture is the more popular one that tags the event....as most people what something in return when they give anything.  But the story in 1 Chronicles 29 explains the intended motive of the art of giving; as the Israelites, led by King David, gave deliberately and generously for the honor of God, for the benefit of the entire nation, and not for themselves (at least to where it was so obvious that it could be recorded).  The eternal principle of God proved faithful as after that event the young country experienced exponential growth in finance, resources, and production that positively impacted most of the population.  Things tangibly got better.  Now, the thought that's usually pushed in situations like relies heavily on the spiritual component...which is crudely captured now by the statement "won't He do it."  But I believe it's something more practical than the opening of the windows of Heaven.  And I think it involves personal responsibility for others.