by Stuart Strachan Jr. | Nov 14, 2020 | Gratitude, Sermon Illustrations
In Budapest, a man goes to the rabbi and complains, “Life is unbearable. There are nine of us living in one room. What can I do?” The rabbi answers, “Take your goat into the room with you.” The man in incredulous, but the rabbi insists. “Do as I say and come back in...
by Lisa Degrenia | Nov 10, 2020 | Liturgy
The Following prayer is by guest contributor Rev. Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia. Let us pause to honor, thank, and remember all who served in the military, living or dead. Speak or comment below the names of veterans you know, including yourself if you served in the...
by Stuart Strachan Jr. | Nov 5, 2020 | Uncategorized
A century ago, men were following with bated breath the march of Napoleon and waiting feverishly for news of the war. And all the while in their own homes, babies were being born. But who could think about babies? Everybody was thinking about battles. In one year,...
by Stuart Strachan Jr. | Oct 14, 2020 | Uncategorized
In an interview with MIT psychologist Sherry Turkle, Megan Garber asks what makes in-person conversation unique, compared to all the other ways we communicate these days: Conversations, as they tend to play out in person, are messy—full of pauses and interruptions and...
by Stuart Strachan Jr. | Oct 8, 2020 | Uncategorized
As he reflected on his life’s work, the famed author of Les Miserables, The Count of Monte Cristo, and many others, Victor Hugo describes what he believed about life after death, that heaven would actually entail a continuation of his life’s work: I feel within me...
by Stuart Strachan Jr. | Sep 25, 2020 | Book Reviews
Chuck DeGroat’s When Narcissism Comes to Church is a crucial work for anyone working close to ministers. It sheds light on some of the more pervasive behavior we see in the celebrity pastor or the new church planter who plans to save the world. If you are...
by Stuart Strachan Jr. | Sep 25, 2020 | Uncategorized
Pride, and its more serious cousin, narcissism, really shouldn’t have any place in leadership circles in the church. When I became a serious follower of Jesus at a teenager, Philippians 2 became one of my favorite passages. It taught me that being a disciple of Jesus...
by Stuart Strachan Jr. | Sep 22, 2020 | Politics, Sermon Illustrations
During the 1992 presidential elections a friend of mine told me about an awkward moment in his Bible study. One of the group members expressed excitement because that Sunday, she had seen a bumper sticker promoting the “other party” in the church’s parking lot. She...
by Stuart Strachan Jr. | Sep 17, 2020 | Uncategorized
The Devils Logic [Part 1 of 2] Think for a second what it would be like if Satan were to tell the truth when he tempted people? Could you picture what that would look like? Imagine if Satan tried to tempt us honestly; it might go something like this: SATAN:...
by Stuart Strachan Jr. | Sep 8, 2020 | Judgment, Sermon Illustrations
It is important to be aware that the act of judging others has its origins in our self-judgment. As I often tell patients, “Shamed people shame people.” Long before we are criticizing others, the source of that criticism has been planted, fertilized and grown in our...
