You call yourself a preacher?

Watch your toes. If they are pointed the wrong way they may be stepped on with this blog.

You call yourself a minister? A preacher? A man of God? A priest? A pastor? You are a leader in your church? People look to you as an example? Well, do us all a favor... if you are going to insist on practicing unforgiveness, having extramarital affairs, participating in drunkeness and blatantly living in habitual sin, stop referring to yourself as one of these leaders of our faith. You are giving Christianity a bad name.

I am so sick of hearing people complain about Christians claiming to love Jesus and then living lives that are anything but Christlike. Especially the leaders in the church. I am not perfect -nor do I claim to be. Far from it. But when God or my fellow believer brings a sin to my attention, I work on it. I don't ignore them and continue the sin in my private life while getting up on stage and preaching against the very same thing.

If you are teaching people to be forgiving, you are in no place to refuse to speak to someone who has asked for your forgiveness. If you are teaching people to be faithful to their spouse, you have no business going out in secret and engaging in inappropriate activities with those of the opposite sex. If you are teaching people to be honest, stop lying! Hypocrisy is alive and well in the Christian church. And we wonder what's wrong with the church today?!

I realize this is not my typical blog and I know this will not be well-received by many - but I will not apologize. Again - I know I'm not perfect and I'm not claiming to be. I'm simply asking that if you are going to be a leader in the church, step up to the responsibilities of character that come with it. If I've stepped on your toes, well, maybe you should turn yourself back to facing Christ so your feet will be pointed in the right direction and this blog won't offend you.

It Takes a Village

We've all heard the saying "it takes a village to raise a child." I was certainly raised by a massive village of people. I can't even begin to list the names of all of the adults who had a hand in shaping me into the person I am today. Sadly, as I get older, I am losing members of that village one by one. As I mourn the loss of them here on Earth, I also have to rejoice at several things. I know they will be greatly rewarded in Heaven for investing so much time and energy into so many lives, including my own. I am so very thankful that I was at the receiving end of their guidance, advice, love and direction. I am also very thankful that the lessons they instilled in me as a child not only have stood the test of time, but can now be instilled into my own children - and other children I have contact with - in the same loving manner.

This morning I learned of the loss of Grandma Rose - aka "Shorty" - from camp. I can remember Rose being a part of my life from the time I was in 3rd grade on. She seemed old to me as a 9 year-old, but she never seemed to age as I got older. Every summer I could count on her being at camp, fussing over our grocery requests, handling the first aid and business end of camp, and just being a strong leadership presence during our weeks there. Every January I could count on seeing her during Girl Scout cookie sales. She was the main woman when it came to overseeing the cookies. I remember going to her house to pick up my order of cookies and seeing massive piles of cookies throughout her entire home. Her poor husband must have hated that time of year. During the 27 or so years that I knew Rose, I can't ever remember her losing her temper or being mean. Ever. Yes, she got angry, but the way she dealt with it and displayed it were exceptional. Never harsh, just very to-the-point and no-questions-asked. You knew when she meant business. She was such a hard worker, and completely devoted to giving of herself to help young people and the camp.

As I reflected back on the influence Rose had in my life, I thought about my own children. Am I keeping enough adults actively engaged in my children's lives to be positive influences and role models? Who will be the villagers involved in helping to shape my children into respectful, responsible adults? Who will be the added "grandmas" and "uncles" who will touch their lives with significant truths or lessons?

I prayed this morning for the villagers who will have a hand in my children's lives. I gave thanks for the people like Rose in my own life. I also prayed that I would be a consistent contributor to the village of those children whose lives I have contact with. It really does take a village, and we all need to do our part.