Ministry in Motion

Make love not war. This oft-used mantra from my old hippie days is broader and deeper than just being a political pacifist and social activist. "..Blessed are the peacemakers, says Scripture , for they shall be called the children of God.." Do you bring the peace of God into a room when you enter or do you arrive creating discord and bringing enmity? Really, think about it. Is your persona, are your conversations, peaceful, nurturing and up lifting or are they riddled with fault, blame and bitterness - are you an agitator? According to this text in the Gospel of Matthew only the children of God can bring the peace of knowing God to others. In reality, only a person who is at peace with himself can bring peace. To be otherwise is like mutually exclusive. Embracing peacemaking doesn't mean that we always avoid conflict, but being peaceable does mean recognizing the real costs of the contrary and weighing those costs as if they will be shouldered by ourselves and our loved

“ The Christian belongs not in the seclusion of a cloistered life but in the thick of foes.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer's quote has stirred me. Jesus told His followers, “… I am sending you out to be sheep among wolves …” I had to ask myself, and truth-be-told,  pestering my wife too, asking are most Christians equipped to be out among the wolves without succumbing to their ways? Christians have always lived, and often thrived, in cultures where they are and were the minorities. There is little doubt that American Christians are experiencing a cultural shift – we’re living in a society that appears more secular than religious. I’m thinking that the Christian community’s challenge is to shelf their judgmental, pious positions in favor of engaging the world in a responsible manner. Jesus held mixers in the thick of foes – He mingled with the wolves. Shouldn’t we do the same by simply sticking with what He commanded us to do: By being love; caring for the poor, the sick and th

Life is messy and imperfect.  When I was younger I was taught, graded, encouraged to be perfect. I failed miserably. My story, maybe like yours, is one loaded with fractures, cracks and imperfections. Frankly, in this world, we're all broken and wounded in some way and to some degree. Some of us choose to grow and become stronger as a result of this brokenness; still others fight against it or choose to stay fractured. My encouragement to those comes from Christ's own words, " ...he took bread and broke it..." When we allow our Creator to break us {CLICK HERE} He does so to make us whole. And, we often come through the experience with a really cool patina. Out of our brokenness comes beauty. #minmchurch #churchpearland

When the unclean Pig-Pen's of the world touched Jesus, He was not made unclean; rather the unclean were cleansed, made whole and made complete. In the person and hospitality of Christ we see God as willing to share Himself with everyone: Jew, Gentile, sinner, the broken, the unclean. Too often, we restrict and burden the unbeliever with our man made definitions of who can approach and interact and have a relationship with our Creator. The Apostle Peter clarifies this in Acts 10:28 . My Sunday Thought - Whom are you judging as unclean and what's the Spirit saying to you about your attitude? Shalom...PKES #minmchurch

How do you react when you've been hurt; when someone offends you; when you're dissed; when you're annoyed? Psychologists call these offenses, these slights,   "narcissistic injuries" because they bruise our egos and make us feel belittled. According to Psychology Today, slights may seem trivial, on the surface, but they can have dangerous consequences. They can play on our minds, opening up wounds, which are difficult to heal; they eat away at us from the inside. Professor of Religion and Episcopal Bishop Ed Gungor posed this question, theory and solution: “ Who offends you most? The measure of your love for the ones that [have] bothered you most is the measure of your love for God.” A really smart and Godly man once said, in the midst of terrible anguish, “…Father, forgive them…” Wronged, dissed, belittled and wounded He took the high road of loving and forgiving – a lesson for all of us. Peace…PKES