I believe in respect. Unfortunately, I don’t see much of it anymore.  American culture seems to run on disrespect.  Politicians show complete disrespect to other politicians.  Crowds at ballgames disrespect the players, the referees, the coaches, and fans of the other team. And disrespect aimed at teachers, police officers, retail...

I love Arizona. I’m not a native, but I’m close. My family moved here when I was 2.  I’ve lived in Arizona for 54 of my 59 years. And I’ve never really wanted to live anywhere else. But that doesn’t mean I love everything about Arizona. There are many things...

I follow politics rather closely, but, as a Pastor, I don’t endorse candidates from the pulpit or in my official position as Pastor.  Nevertheless, I think and pray about political and governmental issues a lot.  (And I’ve even been known to rant–regularly, actually–but only at home and with close friends.) ...

There is an interesting case before the Supreme Court right now that is of great interest to believers.  And despite what you may have heard from both sides, it’s not an easy decision for the court. The case is relatively straightforward.  A Colorado baker refused to design a cake for...

Several weeks ago, I shared on a Sunday morning that we are considering a name change. Nothing has yet been decided, but we want to answer some of the many questions we have received.  Why are we considering changing our name?  What else would change?  How does a church change...

This blog was inspired by a friend and church member–and a fine human being–who is a DACA recipient. You can call them “dreamers.”  I like that. Or you can call them “DACA recipients,” though that sounds overly bureaucratic. But let’s not call them aliens, which makes them sound weird and otherworldly. And...

Earth Day (April 22) isn’t normally considered a Christian holiday. I think it should be. The Bible starts off with “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Unfortunately, the Christian world has spent way too much time and energy arguing the specifics of that creation, and too...

We began a homeless ministry in January, and we have housed from 2-10 people each night since then, using the existing facilities of 8 different churches.  This IHELP model (Interfaith Homeless Emergency Lodging Program) offers our homeless guests up to 90 days in a shelter, with showers, dinners, brown-bag-lunches-to-go, and...

I am often on Facebook and Twitter, and I enjoy it.  (I also try and keep up with my kids and grandkids on Instagram and Snapchat, but I don’t post much there.)  I use social media for fun, to communicate to people important to me, to promote my faith, beliefs,...

I was looking for the right image, artwork, or photograph for this blog, so I googled “love” and I looked at the resulting images trying to find what I wanted.   There were hearts.  Flowers.  Couples kissing.  Children holding hands.  Picnics.  Puppies.  Sunrises and sunsets.  Diamond rings. All of them beautiful...