The Word and the Work: Thoughts on Preaching, Pastoring, and the Christian Life

There are times in our life and in our walk with Christ when things just seem to be sideways.  Some call it a desert experience, a dry spell, or just feeling distance from God.  One of my favorite preachers talks about being "dry as cracker juice".  Here is the problem with being in that place.  When we are not in a place where we feel immersed in the living water offered by Christ through the power of His Holy Spirit we, like other dry things, are in danger of crumbling. It happens to all of us.  There is an old preaching illustration about an older couple riding down the road in an old pickup with a bench seat.  As the man drove his wife, who was seated against the passenger door said "honey, whenever we were younger and rode down the road in this old truck we always sat a lot closer together". The man, with his hands on the steering wheel said "Honey, I am not the one who has moved". This is a picture of us with God.  When we feel distance, it is beca

Today is April Fool's Day.  However, it is also the beginning of Autism Awareness month.  A couple of years ago I wrote a blog post titled The Gospel and Autism: A Father's Fear.  You can find that post here .  I relayed in that post many of the things that we were dealing with as a family, and how I had struggled with the ability of my son to mentally access the Gospel.  I would be lying to you if I said I still do not harbor some of those fears from time to time.  In the last six months I have begun to put together the very beginnings of a writing project that may end up being book length or it may just be essay length.  Either way it seeks to explore even deeper these concerns that I have because I know that I cannot be the only one that has them.  In the passing of almost 2 years I have learned some things about my son, about myself, and about God.  First, my son is amazing.  This 6 year old is largely taking life by storm.  He has his quirks, intricacies, and challen