When Things Go Wrong

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Last week we had one of those nights where everything we’d planned fell apart. Have you been there? First, it was the computer acting up. Then it was the projector. We tried various solutions to fix the problem, but we were at a loss.

Night like this are always frustrating. We try our best, but then end up surrendering to the reality that we can’t fix the issue. It made me think about life and what we do when things go wrong.

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Laughing At Our Sin

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

I’ve been thinking lately–which I know might be a dangerous thing–about the issues we all have. This all happened after I counseled some of our students who told me they were ‘struggling’ with sin.

We talked about Scripture and Jesus and still felt like we were back at square one. I thought about what sin means if you’re in Christ. Being in Christ means you have been set free. And freedom is something to take joy in.

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Realistic Expectations

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Expectations. We all have them. At times, they can be a point of focus, a perennial north star guiding us into the future. And those other times? Well, they can be a major source of pain and frustration. This is especially true when people place expectations on us.

I’ve noticed this often occurs in the lives of young people. Deliberate or not, we tend to place unrealistic expectations on them. This is partly due to a desire to see them succeed and live healthy, full lives. Another part, though, is due to a misunderstanding we have when working with young people.

We’ve forgotten to let young people be… young people.

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Preach the Pauses

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One of the things they teach you in seminary is the importance of crafting sermons. A lot of instruction goes into creating biblically sound, articulate, and application heavy messages. Of course, there are certain things about sermons that can’t be taught, but can only be learned.

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