Like most churches (but, unfortunately, not all), we have decided to close our doors through at least April 30 or until the stay-at-home order by Arizona Governor Doug Ducey expires.  We are not holding any classes or services and none of our groups are meeting—except for various online settings.  Our...

“”I don’t know if this is true or not.” I know it’s not true, but I wanted to get people’s reaction.” “I just reposted it.  It’s not my job to verify it.”  “I know it’s not true, but it’s funny!” “I’m not sure whether it’s true or not, but this...

Questions I Ask Before I Vote As a pastor, I do not publicly endorse candidates, nor do I share my party affiliations publicly.  I’d rather be known as a follower of Jesus than a supporter of ‘Candidate X.’  In the same way, our church does not endorse a candidate, and...

We trace the history of Thanksgiving in the United States of America to 1621, when the Pilgrims celebrated their first harvest in the New world.  It was a three-day feast attended by 90 Native Americans and 53 Pilgrims.  It was celebrated by our nation on-and-off from 1789, when President Washington...

I’ve sung this song before, but it needs to be repeated.  RESPECT—in American culture—is sorely lacking. The latest issue that led to this blog is the booing of the President at a World Series game and the crowd chants of “lock him up” that occurred in Washington D.C. on Sunday,...

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Those are the opening words of the very first amendment to the constitution of the United States of America’s in the portion known as the Bill of Rights.  If you know your United States...

Most people have heard the story of the Good Samaritan.  It may be the most widely known of all of Jesus’ parables. What you may not know is that the story was particularly and even purposely offensive to the religious leaders of Jesus’ day.  The “experts in the law,” the “priests,”...

We’re doing it wrong. Christians are fond of quoting 1 Peter 2:17, “Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.”  We have no emperor (or king, as in some translations) so we correctly apply the verse to mean that we are to respect...

With copies to Senator Martha McSally, Senator Kyrsten Sinema, Congressman Paul Gosar, and Congressman Raul Grijalva. I’m a pastor, not a politician. I usually focus on theological, moral, church leadership, religious, and family issues, rather than political issues. But I love my country and I take a deep interest in our...

Today is Earth Day. It isn’t normally considered a Christian holiday.  But I think it should be. Unfortunately, I have some Christian friends who consider Earth Day as an anti-Christian holiday, because they lump anything from the environmental movement into the “anti-god and almost atheistic” category.  I have many Republican...