The neighbor behind us was behaving oddly. I hadn’t lived in my home long, but I had lived there long enough to notice that the furtive phone conversations she was having every day on her back porch were unusual. I couldn’t hear what she was saying, but I did notice […]
Herb Reese
668 posts
In my last post I wrote about how 3 Christian men in a very small church can have a huge impact on the lives of 161 hypothetical people by “guaranteeing their well-being.” I arrived at the figure of 161 people by making very conservative estimates of the sizes of their […]
I know. It sounds rather “ambitious” to guarantee the well-being of 161 people. How can anyone guarantee the well-being of 161 people? What does it mean to guarantee the well-being of anyone? And what’s with “161 people”? And why “3 Christian men”? It all sounds oddly too specific and waaaaay […]
Pastors, have you ever preached a series on good works? How about you, men’s ministry leaders? Do your men know the purpose of good works and are you giving them practical opportunities to practice them? The reason I’m asking is because evangelicals tend to ignore the topic of good works. […]
What would you think if you walked into a home and there in the living was a large plaque that read, “You shall love your wife as Christ loves the church”? Then, when you ask the couple why the plaque is there, the wife responded, “Oh, I hung that there […]
I have two questions for you. First, what percent of all the adult men in your church are involved in your church’s men’s ministry? Second, what percent of all the adult men in a typical church does it take to provide every widow, widower and single parent in its congregation […]
“Lisa,” a member of my church in Illinois, had moved from Bolivia to the US, married, and started a family. When she and her husband bought their first home, I asked her how she liked it. “It’s okay,” she said, with a disappointed look on her face. “But back in […]
“Here, let me show you how to do that.” Depending on the circumstances, that statement can be taken as either arrogant and demeaning, as when a stranger offers unsolicited advice when you find yourself in a difficult but solvable situation, or as helpful and encouraging, as when an instructor at […]
We’ve seen a slew of major corporate scandals in recent years. There’s Wells Fargo, Enron, Lehman Brothers, Uber, CBS, Facebook, and Equifx. Even Apple had its “batterygate.” These companies have responded in various ways, such as declaring bankruptcy, replacing its leadership, and changing policies and paractices. But recently I was […]
I grew up in a large commuter church. Church of the Open Door in downtown Los Angeles drew a few thousand Christians together every week from a twenty-five mile radius in all directions. It was an amazing church, renowned, not only for its Bible teaching and huge thirteen story building […]