Roger

Nobody likes a tattletale -- an individual who makes it his goal to keep others straight.  They are self-made watchdogs. Snitches.  They are a pain in the neck! I remember tattling on my brother Jeff when we were growing up.  He had snuck ice cream from our basement freezer and I felt it my duty to tell my parents.  Not only did my parents yell at me, but later Jeff beat me up.  He got a spanking, and I got a black eye! Did you know that not even God tattles on us? Since about the late 1980’s, the phrase, “prophetic word” began circulating in certain streams of Christian endeavor.  I personally felt uncomfortable from the very on-set of what is now referred to as the “Prophetic Movement.”  It seemed that everyone had a “word from the Lord.”  I believe in the office of prophet, simply because the Bible tells us that “Christ Himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equi...

“All the believers were together and had everything in common…every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.   They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people…” (Acts 2:46-47). I’ve been giving these verses a lot of thought lately.   They describe the lifestyle of early Christians.   Those folks were together all the time.   They did not have nine to five jobs.   They lived in close-knit communities and literally “did life together.”   Obviously, they were not Americans! Let me explain.   When ministers attempt to “Americanize” this passage of Scripture, frustration results.   I’ve pastored six churches and in each one, we struggled to promote an environment where people could genuinely connect.   Sadly, many felt disconnected from the overall body life of the church and seldom experienced the joy of Christian community. Seeing one another fo...

Every child deserves the right to spend quality time with grandparents.   I was blessed with four wonderful grandparents who loved me and, in different ways poured into my life.   My wife also enjoyed the love of four grandparents who all carried the same last name.   Owens married an Owens!   To set them apart, one was called “Town,” the other “Country.” I asked my wife, “What would you have done had they both lived in town?” My four children tragically lost their maternal grandparents when they were quite young.   My mom died before any of them were born, and distance usually did not allow them opportunity to spend time with my dad. As little children, my brothers and sisters and I loved to visit my grandparents’ 90-acre farm.   To me, 5286 Anderson Road in Pierpont was the closest place to heaven on earth!   Memories of waking up to the call of the whippoorwill, and greeting the day with the smells of freshly baked biscuits, crisp bacon, fried eggs ...

I’ve been giving a lot of thought lately to the phrase, “Letter of the Law.”   Being a pastor, I regularly meet Christ followers who were raised under what I refer to as “law based preaching.”   By definition, I mean preaching that highlights the necessity of religious performance and “doing” over “BEING.”   In other words, preaching that emphasizes man’s role in his salvation and de-emphasizes God’s role.   In my mind, such preaching comes up short, and renders the cross of Christ null and void.     We all seem to struggle with a balanced perspective of genuine Christian living.       Individuals who grow up under such preaching tend to be easily identifiable: 1.      Most exhibit anger unaware .   Under legalism, by virtue of its approach, people come up short of God’s righteous demands.   They’re never good enough.   The Old Testament Law, if nothing else, proved than mankind was no match for sin. ...

“Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak” (James 1:19a). Human anatomy seems to support God’s opinion on this matter, when we realize that He gave us two ears and one mouth.   Could it be that He wants us to listen as least twice as much as we speak?   When we talk too much and listen too little, we communicate to others that our ideas are much more important than theirs.   James wisely advises us to reverse the process. How?   By putting a stopwatch on our conversations and keeping track of how much we talk versus how much we listen.   When we listen to others, we place value upon them.   Few things say, “I care,” like the finely tuned art of listening. Have you ever talked to someone who never made eye contact and who looked past or around you the entire time?   How did it make you feel?   Embarrassed?   Insulted?   Undervalued?   Recently I engaged a man who talked fast and furiously.   I tried to contribute to th...