There’s something dangerous that can happen to people who spend their lives helping others.
Not all at once.
Not dramatically.
Not with some giant explosion.
It happens slowly.
Quietly.
You keep showing up for broken people. You keep carrying heavy conversations. You keep walking into hospital rooms, counseling sessions, funeral homes, addiction stories, marriage crises, anxiety battles, and spiritual darkness. You keep trying to rescue people from the flames like Jude 23 talks about.
Read MoreIf you’ve written off someone because of one mistake or dumb remark, you’re participating in what has become a growing problem, “cancel culture.”
“There is no single accepted definition of cancel culture,” according to Forbes, “but at its worst, it is about unaccountable groups successfully applying pressure to punish someone for perceived wrong opinions.”
In other words, you wrong me or offend me, and you’re dead to me. And you should be dead to all my social media contacts, too. I’ll tell anyone who will listen why you’re dead to me and explain why they should cancel you as I have.
The Forbes article gives several recent examples, some of them describing celebrities with careers ruined (although some eventually saw a boost in their following after an initial outcry over their remarks).
Read MoreA local radio DJ recovering from brain surgery spoke this week about a man he met in a store where he and his wife were shopping. “Look,” she said. “That guy has a head scar just like yours. Go talk to him.” The DJ discovered this stranger had undergone the same surgery as he had—by the same doctor in the same hospital. They had an immediate bond, and it started with their scars.
This is an extreme example, but it isn’t all that unusual. Get a group of men together, and they’re often showing off their scars. Each one is proof of their bravery or bravado: a cut hand, a bruised forehead, a gash on the leg. Sometimes the guys will just admit a clumsy fall or a foolish risk. The group gets a good laugh, and the bond between them grows stronger. Women, too, will compare the scars from their Caesarean sections or other surgeries, even if they don’t show them off. Describing their common scars brings them closer to each other.
Read MoreAll of us are more powerless than we want to admit. But in this time of quarantine, with daily reports of death and disease, we may feel more helpless than ever.
In these challenging days I’ve been thinking afresh about prayer. And I’ve come to believe what I’m beginning to experience: Prayer brings power. And the power that comes with prayer is unlike anything else we can imagine or create. Here’s what I mean.
Read MoreLast week I promised a post that I’ve decided to delay till next week. After I wrote those words, life was interrupted by the sudden, shocking, unexpected death of someone dear to our church, and I want to tell you about her today.
Emilee Joyner left this earth last Wednesday after only 34 years with us. In the last several years, she had a deep impact on everyone who worshipped at Christ’s church. And since Wednesday we’ve seen how her influence was even wider, based on a faith that was deeper than some know.
Her memorial service is happening as you might be reading this, and I want to tell you three things about Emilee I’m sharing at the service.
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