Merry Christmas

Posted on December 24, 2010 by Tommy

 I don’t know why, but I love this song. So I am sending it out as my “online Christmas card” to whoever is reading my blog. I think those of you who are living where it is cold and snowy will especially appreciate it. Merry Christmas to all of you and prayers for a blessed year in 2011.   (click here)

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life and the life was the light of men…..And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”   (John 1:1-4; 14)  ESV

Posted in Culture, The Person & Work of Jesus Christ | Leave a comment

Thoughts About Christmas, part 2

Posted on December 22, 2010 by Tommy

In the first part of this post, I stated that the proper response to the contemporary assault on Christmas, for believers, would be to figure out how to bring Jesus back to the forefront of Christmas. I suggested we might  begin by asking the question “who was this Jesus? Who was this man whose name (or more correctly, title) was used to name a major holiday?” and perhaps the best question, “why was this Jesus such a big deal?”  In this post, I will deal with these questions and tell you why after 19 years of being a Christian, this holiday and its meaning still blow me away. Continue reading →

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Dean Smith or Coach K – Who’s better?

Posted on December 22, 2010 by Tommy

Even though I am a big sports fan, I seldom post anything related to sports. But on occasion I may be “moved” to do so – especially when a story stirs up a little nostalgia in me. The big story this week in College Basketball touches my childhood and my post-college years or following ACC basketball. Duke’s long-time coach, Mike Krzyzewski (Coach K) has just moved into a ties for 2nd in all-time wins, with the former “Dean” of coaches, Dean Smith of North Carolina. Coach K chalked up career win number 879 with Dukes victory over Elon this week (for the background on this story click here ). This has raised a little debate about which of the 2 great coaches is truly “the best” coach. Adding even more spice to the debate, surely is the fact that the 2 respective institutions these men are connected with are bitter conference rivals, and located less than 10 miles apart in the state of North Carolina. Maybe the debate would not seem quite so intriguing if that were not the case.  So – which of these 2 great coaches is the best? Continue reading →

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Thoughts About Christmas, part 1

Posted on December 21, 2010 by Tommy

I was just thinking this past Sunday……I have been a follower of Jesus Christ since 1991, and studied for 4 ½ years in seminary, and have been in full time ministry for 9 years. But despite all that being true, Christmas and what it is all about continue to amaze me more and more with each passing year. Now I realize that what we in the Western world know as Christmas, especially how we celebrate it, is inter-mingled with pagan ideas and practices. I understand that the Church did not always celebrate the birth of Christ, until sometime later, when it adopted a December 25th celebration to offset the influence of a pagan feast on that same day. Although we all love the way we do Christmas and enjoy it each year as a special time with family and friends, it is in fact troubling to see how in our culture the commercial aspects of Christmas have increasingly overshadowed the spiritual significance of this holiday. All that being so, it is NOT my purpose in this brief post to join the crusade for “keeping Christ in Christmas”. Continue reading →

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A Call For The Church To Return Home

Posted on December 19, 2010 by Tommy

Home is a place where we belong. During the Christmas season many of us, despite having left home years ago, can return home to the place we were raised and still have the sense we belong there. We can look back and see that home was a place that gave shape to who we are. In the same way, the Church also has a home. It is in the historical and apostolic origins, beginning with what is recorded in Scripture, and established through the work of people like Augustine, the Reformers, and early Puritans. But by this time, the Church had matured to a point that she began to drift away from those foundations of her home. Just as a young man or woman of humble beginnings may achieve great success or stardom, and consequently lose themselves in all the hype and craziness of the world, so the Church has managed to do as well. Continue reading →

Posted in American Church, Church Revitalization, Doctrinal Issues, Theology | 1 Comment

A Christmas Gift To My Middle-Aged Friends

Posted on December 18, 2010 by Tommy

One thing I have recently come to realize is that those of us who are children of the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s (yes some of us took a long time to grow up) are no longer girls and boys. As we come to grips that even our children are no longer girls and boys, we may even realize we are no longer “young” men or women. Even so we are not yet “old” either. I don’t know about you but I’m not ready to surrender that hill yet. During this particular season of life, we have to come to grips with a lot of things. There are a number of changes and hard realities that can send us into a serious tailspin if we lose perspective.

It occurred to me that not only am I entering into this season of “middle age” but (thanks to Facebook and having served 3 churches in 3 states) I’m connected with a large number of people who are about my age, and most certainly facing much of the same things. Continue reading →

Posted in Spiritual Formation & Discipleship | 1 Comment

The Evil Twin Brother of Burnout

Posted on December 17, 2010 by Tommy

The Evil Twin Brother of Burnout is something that you have most certainly heard alot about. You have probably heard more about this than you have about Burnout, although much like Burnout, there is widespread ignorance about how to recognize it. What I am talking about here is Depression. I am of the conviction that within Christian circles, it is about time that we stop allowing this issue to be the big elephant in the room. I understand that some groups claim that a Christian either cannot or should not suffer from Depression. The facts very loudly scream out something different.

In this post I am not going to attempt to discuss Depression in great depth. Nor will I get into the different ideas within the Christian community about the causes and treatment methods of Depression. What I do want to do is simply alert my readers of the reality of it and how it relates to Burnout.  Continue reading →

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Red Flag Warnings (of Burnout)

Posted on December 16, 2010 by Tommy

Burnout does not just happen overnight, but is a gradual process that occurs over an extended period of time. It can creep up on you if you’re not paying attention to the warning signals. The signs and symptoms of burnout are subtle at first, but they get worse and worse as time goes on. In this post I want with you what some of those signs and symptoms are. Hopefully this will help somebody out there pick up on the warning signs and avoid serious issues with burnout. Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Ministry, Counseling, Ministry Stress, Spiritual Formation & Discipleship | Leave a comment

America’s Talking Heads: Hot Air and Clanging Cymbals

Posted on December 16, 2010 by Tommy

A friend of mine sent me this link  today and wanted to know my thoughts on it. I can only say that I wish I had written it, because it reflects my views and convictions almost dead on (with a few exceptions in the details of what the Bible really tells us about end times events). I quit listening to Rush Limbaugh years ago (enough said). I occasionally tune in to O’Reilley, Hannity, and Beck just to see what so many people in our churches are allowing to shape their worldview. All in all, the media in our country is dominated by fear-mongerers, spin doctors, purveyors of propoganda, and the “enlightened elitists” who presume to possess the wisdom to “set us straight” and tell us how their party (Democrat or Republican) has all the solutions to the world’s problems. One can almost hear the whispers between their lines, saying “it’s gonna be ok. Just sell your soul to Big Brother and he will take care of you”.

Well I don’t intend to take alot of time on this. But in response to my friend, I say this article sounds an alarm that needs to besounded in our times. Continue reading →

Posted in Christians and culture, Culture, current events, End Times, Kingdom of God | 1 Comment

Recognizing Burnout Before It’s Too Late

Posted on December 16, 2010 by Tommy

Each time in recent months, that I have posted anything about the subject of Burnout, I get a handful of responses either through Facebook or in the comments section. It seems that addressing this issue helps alot of people make sense of related issues in their lives. For me, as a blog writer that is a good thing. These days, Burnout has become a household word and it seems to be more of a hot button issue in today’s world than in times past (unless we’re talking hippies from the old days who smoked too much dope). I think our culture has placed people on a collision course with burnout for a several decades now. People are working more hours than ever for the same pay, and they are spending more than they make working multiple jobs to keep up the lifestyle – I probably don’t need to explain this any further. Depression and stress-related illnesses are approaching epidemic proportions Continue reading →

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