Tag: church (Page 13 of 22)

Kid that drawing sucks

May 31, 2023 / Derrick Hurst / 0 Comments

Ok so the title is a little harsh but it’s there for a reason. I remember when my kids were younger and would draw pictures or color something. They would do their best to stay in the lines but the younger they were the messier it looked. But not once did I look at my sons or daughter and tell them kid that drawing sucks!

I mean who would do that? I don’t know a parent out there who would look at a picture their child made for them and tell them how awful it looked. Ok to be fair after the oooh and ahhh would wear off, there were times when I’d tell them how thankful I was for the picture and then point out where the lines were on the paper. But more in a building up sort of way and not a you suck kind of way.

I use this quick analogy that many of us can relate to, in an effort to pull us into a different situation. Prayer. Sometimes I think we approach prayer like we’re afraid God is going to tell us our drawing sucks!

We complain about not having the right words or not really thinking we’re good enough. We make excuses that we aren’t sure how it all works or what if we say something wrong. But just like a loving parent would never tell their child that their drawing sucked, so also God won’t pick apart your prayer either!

Look, I get it. Talking to someone you can’t see or hear directly is kind of an odd thing. But that should actually make it a bit easier. We don’t have to worry about body language or getting some weird judgmental thing in return. We just talk. Talk about anything really. Talk about our hopes or dream. Talk about our fears or things that really just burn us up inside. Talk about things we want or need. Pretty much if you can think of it, he really wants to hear from you about it.

Prayer, like a child’s drawing, isn’t going to always sound perfect. We will flub up a word or two. We’ll say things that don’t really make sense. But there’s a verse in the Bible that reminds us that even when we can’t figure out what to pray, God fills in the gaps. That’s the joy of prayer. We don’t even have to be good at it for God to hang it on his refrigerator.

So what’s on your mind? What are you wrestling with in your heart? Unload it on God. Just in one of those alone moments in the car or shower either out loud or silently in your mind. Lob those concerns, questions, ideas, fears, joy filled moments back at God. He’ll do the rest. He’ll fill in the gap in your words. He’ll address the issue in the way that’s the most appropriate and beneficial to you and the scenario around you. He’s got it. Just pray and sit back as he shows how grateful he is to hear from you. Watch as he hangs your prayer on his fridge like a parent hangs that special picture from their loving little child on theirs.

Why are churches closing?

May 26, 2023 / Derrick Hurst / 0 Comments

I recently listened to a podcast by Issues Etc that peaked my interest. The title was increased church closings. The speaker was the director of witness and outreach for the church body to which I ascribe. The statistics shared weren’t really all that surprising and unfortunately neither was the proposed solution. The problem is, the solution doesn’t address the real issue.

So why are churches closing? And why does it seem like they are closing so much faster today than ever before?

Well, churches close all the time. It’s nothing new to have a church close its doors due to lack of funds, community shifts, membership decline, large business closes and people move away, any number of things can lead to a church closing. Some of those are out of our control, but others are fully within grasp. As for why they’re closing so fast now, well the short answer is the pandemic changed the way people see the world, spirituality and service. If a church isn’t living in the integrity of its confession, then it’s pretty obvious to this society and they’ll disengage. Also we’ve set the bar way too low for church membership which makes leaving that much easier.

The podcast speaker says “the importance of religion is declining at a very rapid rate” in the US, and this is one of the main causes of church closures. Is it really that religion and spirituality are on the decline, or is it that the institution of the local church is no longer viewed as important? I don’t think the two are the same thing.

I don’t see, in the pockets of the country I’ve visited or discussed, that people are less spiritual or religious. I see a lot of people saying why do I need to belong to a church to do the things they do? There’s a large and ever growing number of people that are simply disenfranchised by the church’s lack of loving the least of these or loving our neighbors as ourselves. The old accusation of the church being full of hypocrites is all too often true in the church today. We hold the banners of what sins we think are worst, and at the same time neglect to share the fellowship and friendship that the gospel commands.

The number one reason I see people disconnecting from the local church is because of poor discipleship. We’ve thrown all of the discipleship eggs into one basket – the Sunday morning worship service. But is that really biblical? Does the Bible really tell us that the primary mechanism for making stronger, more devoted followers of Jesus is to put them in a room on Sunday morning when they can’t talk or interact or serve and just listen? That’s what a lot of Sunday morning worship looks like to a person who’s unaware of what we do in worship.

Now before you go and get your panties in a bunch don’t fill in the blanks here with some nasty assumption. Worship is important to the life of the follower of Jesus. And worship is part of discipleship, but it’s only part of it. There is so much more to being a follower of Jesus than Sunday morning worship.

Jesus raised the bar for what it meant to be his follower. He didn’t lower it. Making discipleship solely about worship attendance and how much money we give cheapens the role of the Christian in the world today. Christianity is not a hobby we pursue when we’re bored, but if Sunday morning is the only or even main place discipleship happens it’s easy to view it as merely a hobby.

I’m honored to be part of a network of Jesus loving men and women who want to see the Body of Christ grow and thrive. We’re doing this by helping churches see more clearly who they are and who their community is. This allows them to align their efforts to better meet the needs in their community and infuse a gospel presence into local neighborhoods more effectively. And one of the coolest parts is that we walk alongside churches the whole time. We take phone calls and text messages, set up zoom calls, and even will be boots on the ground to help local churches break through the barriers they’re facing.

If you’re a church leader or part of a church that’s on the decline, I’d love to chat with you about how to raise the bar of discipleship and how we can work together with other Jesus followers to more effectively and efficiently reach our neighbors with the love of Jesus and connect them to deeper relationships as growing disciples. Hit me up here or on social and let’s find a time to chat!

How To Get Volunteers

May 24, 2023 / Derrick Hurst / 0 Comments

Ever have one of those jobs that needed a volunteer or two or ten? Ever have trouble trying to get enough volunteers to fill the roles you need to fill? I’ve used a very specific method for obtaining and keeping volunteers that has proven to work pretty well for me the past 10 years. If needing volunteers isn’t your thing, then you’re welcome to just move on.

So at the outset here I need to come clean. I’m a pastor and as any pastor or non profit leader can attest, getting volunteers is sometimes a challenge. Actually, statistics show that volunteerism is on the decline across the board for non profits and churches. Another admission, at the church where I serve as pastor, we haven’t noticed that decline in volunteerism. How do we do it? Pretty simple. We have three simple things to keep in mind.

Keep commitments short term

Gone are the days when we can ask someone to serve on a board or committee for years on end. Gone are the days when someone wants to be tied down to a commitment for an extended period of time. This is why we form teams to complete tasks. We call them ministry teams, but you can use whatever designation want. We don’t do boards or committees but action teams because action is what we’re after! Boards are often boring and committees look like people are in comas! Teams have to function together for the time it takes to get the job done.

One example of this is our team that pulls off a fall outreach event. We call our event Fall FunFest. This is a pretty big event for the size church we are. The event has 4-5 key leaders, each with a designated area of responsibility. They form their own teams to get their tasks done. The beauty is when FunFest is over, so is your commitment to this particular team. This frees them up to serve somewhere else or sit back and chill for a bit.

Say Thank You!

This one is pretty significant. Let people know you appreciate their service to the team. This can be as big or small as you want. I’ve used a passing word, a public affirmation, an email, phone call, and often I’ll use a hand written note sent through the snail mail. Just acknowledge the work of your volunteers because if they feel appreciated, not only will they be more likely to volunteer again but also they’ll be great recruiters!

Tell Them Why Them

This is the big one for me and it’s not original to me. A buddy told me to try something and it has worked magnificently! The idea is simple. Tell them why you chose them. If you can’t answer that, then you shouldn’t be asking them. So often we ask someone because they have a pulse or don’t think they can tell us no. These are not good reasons! They are not acceptable.

The trick here is to tell people 3-5 things you see in them that make them a perfect fit for the task you have in mind. This does two really important things. First, it lets them know you value them as a person. In order for you to tell them why you think they’re good for the job you have to know who they are. You’re essentially telling them what you see them bringing to the table. For me it’s really about giving them 3-5 blessings whether they say yes or no.

The second thing this accomplishes is simply to reframe your own mind. This process turns this away from simply asking someone to fill a position but engaging with someone as a human and demonstrating care for them.

These are just a couple of the lessons learned through the past years of volunteer recruitment. What’s worked for you?

Four Must-Haves

May 1, 2023 / Derrick Hurst / 0 Comments

For over 20 years now I’ve done pretty much one thing with my life. Some people say I’ve worked one day a week and it must be nice to have this kind of gig. And well they’re kind of right. Ok not the one day a week bit but it is a pretty nice gig! However, I have to admit, the 20 years have not been all roses and candy, and that’s largely my own fault. You see I had a wrong focus for the first several years that I served as a pastor and that caused me a great deal of grief. It also likely led some people to a bad understanding of who we really were. For that I must apologize.

For decades, we’ve seemingly missed a key point in what it means to be followers of Jesus. It’s evident in the way we talk and how we use some key words in our vocabulary. We’ve changed the meaning of words to fit our comfort levels. We’ve left parts out of the Bible. Maybe we did it because we didn’t know better. Or perhaps it was because we just weren’t comfortable with going that far.

This post is about going that far. I’m growing increasingly tired of lowering the bar to make life easier and that’s exactly what the church has done for decades. We’ve become the lovey dovey, sissified, passive but vocal group that really doesn’t do a lot. There are exceptions but from what I see this is more the norm than the exception.

Warning: What follows is not a lowering of the bar. It’s not an attempt to make the church feel better about itself and tell you it’s going to be ok. Actually it’s just the opposite. It’s not going to be ok. If things don’t shift, and we don’t start to take our calling more seriously then we’re doing a great disservice to the gospel and leading people into a false sense of hope.

Being the church cannot be a hobby for weekends when we’re bored!

Acts 2:42 is a powerful verse that provides insight into the early Christian church and its practices. The verse reads, They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. This simple sentence outlines four key practices that were absolutely critical to the early Christian community and should be seen as vital to the church today. I will even go so far as to say that without all four of these parts we cannot be the church.

The Apostles’ Teaching

The first practice that the early Christians devoted themselves to was the apostles’ teaching. This simply refers to the teachings of Jesus passed down by his apostles. These teachings were foundational to the Christian faith and formed the basis for the early church’s beliefs.

They knew that the only way to truly find meaning and power in life was through the word of God. Just like God created Adam in the Garden of Eden but he wasn’t alive until God breathed into him, so also we aren’t really alive until we have the life-giving words of God in our hearts and minds.

For the church today, the apostles’ teaching refers to the Bible. We need to be devoted to the reading, hearing and talking about the Bible. We need to spend time regularly in the Bible as individuals, couples, families, churches, Christians. All of us need the Bible, especially as we look around at the cesspool of crap the floating in the world today.

A special word of caution for parents: if we are not making the Bible a key part of our family diet, then what will our children do when they are met with challenge in their day to day lives? We should fill our children so full of the truth of the Bible that when the world cuts them, they bleed the word of God.

Fellowship

The second practice that the early Christians devoted themselves to was fellowship. This refers to the act of gathering together with other believers to share their lives, encourage one another, worship, and hold each other accountable. The early Christian community placed a high value on fellowship, recognizing that it was important for believers to be in community with one another.

Unfortunately we’ve watered down the idea of fellowship and simply toss the label on anything the institutional church does as a group. We have dart team fellowship, pickle ball fellowship, trash collection fellowship, fellowship luncheons, fellowship conferences, youth fellowship and the list goes on! But is it really fellowship? Or just a fun activity that we want to pretend is churchy so we throw the label on it to make ourselves feel better?

The concept of fellowship was so vital that it wasn’t about what each individual got out of the time together. Instead the point of fellowship was what you brought to the group. When they devoted themselves to fellowship they didn’t focus on themselves but on the rest of the gathering. They truly had a oneness to their community and it was evident to everyone around them.

The Breaking of Bread

The third nonnegotiable practice that defined the early Christians was the breaking of bread. This phrase refers to the act of sharing a meal together. The early Christian community recognized the importance of sharing meals together as a way of building community and celebrating their faith. They knew that eating together was a great way of building a bond that wasn’t easily broken.

This phrase is also about a very specific meal though – communion. The gathering together for the bread and wine, body and blood of Jesus, was a vital part of what it meant to be the church. When they gathered together, they expected to meet Jesus. They didn’t come to be entertained or given a feel good message. Nope! They gathered together expecting to experience the God of the universe right there in their midst.

When we gather for worship, bible study, small groups, fellowship gatherings and the like do we really expect to see Jesus? Or just have a mildly entertaining time, get a spiritual high, then go back to life as usual? If the church is really going to be the church that God calls out into the world we need to expect to see Jesus when we gather!

Prayer

The fourth and final pillar that held up the early church was a devotion to prayer. They didn’t shy away from the act of praying together whenever they met and we shouldn’t either.

There are so many times when we say we’re going to pray for someone but we just feel like we’re not capable, good enough, adequate in our vocabulary, educated enough and we shy away. But praying together should be like breathing. We need to be able to offer prayers for one another every time we gather. No one is better or worse at this task because we are not the point of prayer…God is!

So there you have it four key things that define what it means to be the church. You either have them or you need to make these part of your life! No time like the present. Being the church isn’t a weekend hobby or something for the faint at heart. God doesn’t lower the bar for us and we shouldn’t either. It’s time to be the church.

What About After Easter?

April 14, 2023 / Derrick Hurst / 0 Comments

Wow it’s been a week to say the least. There’s a thing in a pastor’s life called the Easter Hangover. It’s the few days or week after Easter when we go into hibernation mode to just recover. I know it’s odd since we only work one day a week and just because we have an extra service or two over the Easter season shouldn’t make much of a difference. Yeah yeah yeah I hear you.

But the week following Easter is always a week for me to slow things down a lot and refocus on what’s really important. Sure I’ve taken things easy this week and gotten a little more rest than I normally would but I’ve still done the regular functions of my job. One thing that’s really sat on my heart this week is what about after Easter? What are we to do with all the hype?

You’ve probably heard the popular sermon that states It’s Friday but Sunday is coming. It’s the idea that Good Friday was so terrible and so awful and so horrifying, but it wasn’t the end. It had to happen in order for Sunday to have its power. So the message kept repeating that Sunday was just around the corner. But what about after Easter?

I recently heard someone ask what about Easter Monday? What happened the Monday after Jesus rose? What did the disciples do that day? What did Jesus do? What should we be doing?

I think there was a bit of an Easter hangover that happened even for the disciples. I mean look at the emotional toll that this weekend took on them! Their teacher and really good friend was just horribly beaten and died in front of them. They watched as his body was buried and guards were placed so no one could get to him. They mourned and cried and sat in sheer shock and bewilderment. They were terrified about would then happen to them.

But here we are, it’s after Easter. Nothing happened to them. Jesus is no longer in the grave. He’s risen and that’s truly amazing but wow are they exhausted! We don’t have a lot of specific detail on the actions of Jesus after he rose from the dead. We don’t know specifically what he did on Monday after Easter or how he spent his Friday this week.

Maybe they had a fish fry? Or took a trip on the sea with the guys in the boat. We know that he did spend time with them and appeared to them several times. We know that he was in large groups of people who all were shocked to see him alive. If I had to guess this week was spent letting the disciples get used to the idea that the resurrection was real. He didn’t require a lot of them. Or give them any really important information because they probably wouldn’t have remembered it in the first place!

You see the most important thing the disciples did after Easter was tell everyone what they had seen. It’s crazy easy to show up to church on Easter morning and hear the pastor and greet the people. We can sing the songs and get all emotional about the moment, but what do we do with it when we leave the building? What about the rest of the week? What about next Sunday?

This is a week to let it all sink in. Take time to get used to the fact that the resurrection is real! And it’s just as real for you and me today as it was for them that first Easter week. So get used to the idea that Jesus’ resurrection is real. But it’s time we start doing something with the reality of the resurrection.

The Sound of Silence

April 7, 2023 / Derrick Hurst / 0 Comments

In the early morning hours, before the sun began to peak above the horizon, darkness covered the landscape. The air was cool. No one was around. It’s almost as if the earth stopped for a moment. There was an eerie silence that was oddly deafening.

As your feet strolled slowly across the dew covered grass, you notice that nothing was moving. No animals were scurrying about. No birds were chirping. No rustling in the woods. Nothing. Not a single sound could be heard but that silence was so powerful it was almost audible.

The farther you walk, the more uneasy you feel. No noise around you is bringing feelings of fear to your mind. The air is heavy with humidity, yet it is cool on your lungs as you take in a slow, deep breath. You can smell the aroma of flowers cut through the moist air. But still no sound to be heard.

The only sound is that of your feet touching the ground as you make your way across the terrain. Step. Shuffle. Step. Shuffle. You stop walking to see if anything is out there, but alas nothing around you. Not a single moving thing on the face of the earth can be heard.

This sound of silence is reminiscent of the events of Good Friday and Holy Saturday (the day before Easter). It’s the sound, or lack of it, that had overcome the world. The disciples were no longer confident. They were cowering in fear. The soldiers were fast asleep. The enemies of Jesus were dreaming sweet dreams thinking they had won. Satan was even comfortable in the blow of defeat that he dealt to Jesus.

Now displayed lifeless in his tomb, Jesus was gone. No one was looking for him anymore. His cries from the cross were silenced in the moment his head fell. The silence of this moment speaks volumes in our lives today. It’s the sound of silence.

Most of the time we are somber in silence. We are fearful in dark quiet places. We think that victory is loud and boastful. But not today. Today the victory is found in the stillness of that morning. The triumph is experienced in the deafening moments of quiet.

On this Good Friday, pause for a moment. Enjoy the quiet of the early morning. Remember the silence the women heard as they traveled to the tomb. Focus on the quiet and dark of that Good Friday morning. Listen to the silence. What does this moment say to you?

Pray For Your Pastor

April 6, 2023 / Derrick Hurst / 1 Comment

I was recently driving home from a small group bible study when something hit me. No it wasn’t a deer! It was a startling reality. Something I knew but kind of washed over me like a brand new feeling. As a pastor of a church, I am called to preach, teach, visit, pray with and for, serve communion, disciple, train, raise up leaders, and provide care for all of the people in the congregation.

That night I received a call that one of our members wasn’t feeling well. It was an older member who was struggling and I was alerted because the situation was very concerning to several people who had been with this member. I left the group and headed out so I could make some calls to better assess the situation and be prepared should an in person immediate visit be needed.

That’s when it hit me. In addition to all of the things on the list for a pastor to do, we truly care for the people around us. The men, women and children. The old ones and the babies. They all are people for whom we care deeply. We care for you by doing the things we’re called to do. We care for you by preaching and all that stuff. But we also care for you by calling out wrong behavior we see. We care for you by getting up in the middle of the night and making our way to the bedside of your dying loved one. We care for you by sitting quietly and listening as your world crumbles and reassure you that even though you feel alone – someone is there.

Pray for your pastor. He needs it. I can guarantee it.

There are so many highs in ministry that it’s hard to explain. The highs of baptisms and weddings. The highs of anniversary celebrations, ministry parties, block parties, fellowship events, game nights, movie nights, hanging out with friends. But there are also some really gut wrenching moments as well.

You know the funeral that we did for your mom or dad? That day we were there for you. That’s not the only funeral we did. And while your parent or spouse that we buried wasn’t our parent or spouse they were someone for whom we cared deeply. And it wasn’t just that person we had to bury either. It was your loved one and the loved ones of several others as well.

I don’t write this for pity or thanks or recognition. That’s not why we do it. If you’re a pastor reading this and you do these things for recognition, then get out of the ministry now. That’s not a pastor’s heart you possess. I write this because we are weak and often weary. We get tired. We carry burdens we don’t and often can’t share with anyone. We put on a smile when our hearts are torn open. When we are broken, we still have to stand by your side to provide comfort and care in your moment of grief, sorrow, or fear.

If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to ask you to just take a few minutes out of your week and pray for your pastor. Whoever he is. Whether you really like him or don’t quite understand his little character quirks. Pray for your pastor. He’s a human. He hurts. He fails. He struggles. But he loves you and would gladly and willingly rearrange his schedule to be by your side in a moment’s notice if the need arose. We aren’t heroes by any means. Just pastors trying to be the shepherds God calls us to be, and we’d truly be honored if you prayed for us.

On A Tuesday

April 4, 2023 / Derrick Hurst / 0 Comments

The events of this week are powerful for those who live out their Christian faith. From Palm Sunday celebrations to seemingly business as usual until the special services on Thursday and Friday and then the big reveal on Easter morning, this week is filled with power and emotion. But it’s not just the big days that are important. There is something special about each of these days through the week that we call Holy Week.

Yesterday we dealt with having the case of the Mondays. And today we’ll move into that day often called Holy Tuesday. The word holy is a word designated for things set apart or different for a specific purpose. This Tuesday of Holy Week is a special one to be sure.

A few key things happened on this Tuesday of Holy Week that make it stand out from the other Tuesdays in life. First, we see Jesus on a trip which isn’t all that unusual. On the way he discusses what faith really means by killing a fig tree. I know it seems a bit odd to do this but the point was made in a bold fashion. The disciples, kind of like we are today, were a bit on the hard headed side and easily missed the often obvious!

So Jesus kills the fig tree for not bearing fruit and then tells the disciples that if they had faith they too could do similar things. The point wasn’t about killing a tree really. The key was faith. We say we have faith, but when it comes time to actually act on that faith there are often crickets! No action. Faith gives way to fear which gives way to freeze. But Jesus offers an alternative. Believe that the one who called you to do this is able to help you accomplish it.

But there’s more to this Holy Tuesday than a dead fig tree. Jesus makes his way to a mountain called Olivet. And here he gives a sermon that is often referred to as the Olivet Discourse. I know super original naming right?

Well on this mountain, Jesus starts to teach that things are going to change drastically over the next few days. He tells them he’s going to die. Then that he won’t be around anymore. Then that they will be in charge of keeping this movement going in his absence. This is really why he was teaching them about faith through the fig tree. He needed them to believe they were able to do what he was calling them to do.

Nestled in the middle of the Olivet Discourse is a section dealing with the end of the world. Insert ominous music in the background. Well the section dealing with the end is really a lesson on how the world will un-evolve when he’s gone. So Jesus is saying that he’s going to die and rise and ascend. But when he’s gone the world is going to be really hard. And increasingly so as we get further and further from His death and resurrection. The more time lapses between when Jesus was here the harder and more evil the world will become.

But there’s a glimmer of hope buried in that sermon. Not only will things get hard and we’ll really not like it at all while it’s happening, but when it runs its course he will come back. That’s the cool part of this whole week.

Jesus is hailed as King. Paraded through town. Then quickly abandoned for a more convenient prospect. Then killed and tossed outside the city to hopefully be forgotten. But his followers are supposed to carry this message just like he carried his cross. Until one day life will be so full of evil and death and wrong and sin that God will call it over. He’ll send Jesus back and collect what’s rightfully his. The rest will dealt with in what is called judgment.

So this week isn’t really about Jesus dying and rising as much as it is laying the foundation for something that is yet to come in the future for all of us. Holy Week is about Jesus coming back again to close the book on this sinful world and set us up in a place that is far better than anything we could ever imagine. And that’s what happened on a Tuesday.

Today In History

April 3, 2023 / Derrick Hurst / 0 Comments

This week is a week that Christians around the world celebrate as something we call Holy Week. It’s the week that we attribute to Jesus coming into Jerusalem where he is heralded as King. Then things turn drastically for the worse and by the end of the week he’s dead and buried. Pretty hard shift to say the least. But how did it all happen? And what happened between Sunday and Friday to bring this change in how people saw Jesus?

What exactly is Holy Monday anyway?

The Monday of Holy Week is called Holy Monday. Really not much holy about most Mondays so we’ll take it right! This day is called holy primarily because it falls during this week that in general is considered Jesus’ holy walk to the cross.

But did Jesus do anything special on this Monday to make it special?

The answer is a bit complicated. So we’ll give it a yes and a no. I get it that’s the cheater’s way out but stick with me here for a minute.

On the Monday of this Holy Week time period, Jesus entered the city and went straight to the temple. In the center of the town was a temple. And it was a lot like a small community of its own complete with worship center, tons of people and even the ability to buy and sell certain things.

Well, this particular day Jesus enters the temple area and is upset. He’s upset because the main thing in the temple was supposed to be worship and sacrifices to God. But that’s not the focus that day. The focus was on the buying and selling things.

Ok so Jesus didn’t really have a problem with the buying and selling either. From what many bible scholars and cultural history buffs tell us, you could buy and sell animals for sacrifice in certain parts of the extended temple complex. The issue Jesus had was essentially the currency conversion rate and the mark up placed on these goods.

You see in the temple you couldn’t just walk in with street money and expect to buy things. There was a temple currency of sorts that generally had to be obtained. So they had these currency conversion tables. The issue here however is the temple got to determine the conversion rate. So they could charge some people more for the conversion and others less depending on the person’s overall economic standing.

Then there is the mark up. The issue here is that when people came to buy an animal for the regular sacrifice, the temple sales people were marking up the cost of animals to make a little extra cash. It’s not really known if they were pocketing the money or storing at the temple or sending their families to Disney World. All that is known is that they were selling things are a far higher price than they should have. So Jesus enters the temple and tells them all to get lost until they can have the right heart.

Now when making money is your motivation for doing something. And when someone stops you from making money, you get a bit bent. This is what started to happen to some of the leaders when Jesus came in and turned over the tables and removed them from the temple.

So what we see on this Monday of Holy Week is the beginning of the end for Jesus. This is one reason why things turned so quickly for Jesus and shouts of praises on Palm Sunday turned to kill him by Friday.

When Tragedy Strikes

March 28, 2023 / Derrick Hurst / 0 Comments

What do we do when tragedy strikes? What do we do when it hits close to home? What about when it impacts our very own family and friends? What about when our community is thrust into chaos because of the actions of someone unruly or evil?

Our tendency in these times is to find the biggest target we can find and throw blame at it. We want to find someone to hold accountable and it’s far easier to blame the biggest person, organization or group in the room. While this may be the easiest in the moment, it’s not generally the most effective method. And it will not bring the results we want.

Yesterday another senseless act of violence took the lives of innocent children and adults. It’s tragic to say the least. I hear of these things and want something to change. I want these to stop. I want children to be able to attend school without fear of something like this happening. I want teachers to be able to walk into schools with smiles on their faces and not a sense of apprehension in their minds about the safety of their room that day.

For some this will be an unpopular opinion, and for those of you who are offended by my thoughts, my intent is not to offend you. You have your thoughts and I have mine. You have the right to hit the little “x” or red dot and close this window and you’re welcome to do that.

Now for the unpopular opinion.

Blaming the wrong entity won’t help. Blaming the system, government, weapon of choice, school system, police force… none of that is going to make a bit of difference. Making more laws unfortunately won’t be of any real help either. How many bad guys read the law books to make sure it’s not going to break a law? Don’t believe me? Look at your own life for a minute.

There these little white rectangular signs on the side of the road. They are laws. Did you know that? Laws that state how fast are allowed to go in a given area. We call them speed limit signs. Now how many of you follow those suckers to the number? Do you push the limits at all? Maybe going 5 over? or 10? Drive the freeway and you’ll see it. Laws don’t stop people from doing what’s wrong. Or look at those red octagons. Ever roll through a stop? Yeah well that’s against the law too. Laws don’t make the problem go away. We just find another way.

I don’t want this to come across as insensitive at all. I am 100% against the violence. I am 100% against the evil actions around us. But I am also of the mindset that laws don’t stop stupid. They don’t stop mean. They don’t stop threats or violent acts. Rapists know it’s wrong but they still do it. Thieves know it’s wrong but they still steal. There are laws against all sorts of things but to prohibit something doesn’t stop someone from doing it.

So then what do we do?

The short answer is we need to change the way we think. Who’s to blame? The perpetrator. The villain. But more than that society is to blame. We all are to blame for the mess we’re in right now. When we can’t find a solid and consistent measure for right and wrong it should be no surprise when people will find their own measuring stick.

We live in a world that has taken right and wrong out of the equation because we don’t want to hurt or offend someone. We don’t want to “shove” our ideology down someone else’s throat so we don’t teach ethics anymore. There are not immovable standards in society. You have your truth and I have mine. That’s a sick and twisted society friends.

What do we do? We hold to some standard of truth. We hold to some form of right and wrong. For a couple of centuries this country had a pretty decent standard of how to function. From the Constitution to the Declaration of Independence to the other documents that were part of the founding of this nation, we had a real and easy to follow set of boundaries. For a time the nation used the essence of the Bible (not teaching the faith of the Bible but the boundaries it set) for a determination of right and wrong.

You may not agree with those documents. You may not like them. You may think they are old and potentially even a bit outdated. But they were foundational to who we are as a people.

How do we fix where we are? Be kind. It’s really that simple. Don’t be a jerk. Raise your kids to be kind. Not tolerant because tolerant doesn’t do anything. Kindness does. Go out of your way to do good to someone. If you’re the praying type spend some time in prayer. Dad’s be present with your families. Quit running away to pursue your own selfish lustful passions and be involved in your kids’ lives.

When tragedy strikes is the time we come together not throw crap at one another like a bunch of mindless monkeys. Stop slinging crap and start being kind and we might just see a change in our communities.

Tag: church (Page 13 of 22)

Kid that drawing sucks

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Why are churches closing?

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