A Dozen and One Pre-Christmas Hacks (2022 Edition)

We all know Christmas events and family gatherings can be stressful.  Especially this year. I get it.  Drama wrapped in beautiful paper and adorned with a bow is still drama. But I want to suggest that they don’t have to be terrible.  In fact, they can be pretty good…even in a pandemic! Like anything else in

Facing Those Who Disappoint (during the holidays)

The holiday season is almost upon us!  Again. Some of you are rejoicing!  Some are not. It is 100% certain that you will be dealing with people who have disappointed you during this holiday season.  When we are around people who have disappointed us in one way or the other, a myriad of emotions can

Following Up Your Christmas Week

Social Media is a great tool to keep up with what God is doing in churches far and near.  I love reading each and every glowing report! Many churches rebounded from 2020 attendance for Christmas Week and I rejoice with them! Clearly God was moving. Bam! However, failure to effectively follow up major “victories” (like a

How to Own Christmas Week (and stay sane doing it)

So it is almost Christmas!  Here are a baker’s dozen practical ways to help you down the final stretch! Finish up your shopping The week before Christmas is crazy at the retail centers and you don’t want to be at the mercy of the mail to deliver an on-line order before the wire.  Finish up.  Settle

What is too Important to Forget About Memorial Day

I was pondering this afternoon about what Memorial Day means to me. For a lot of folks, Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day are essentially indiscernible…even redundant.  But Memorial Day is not just about service, it is about ultimate sacrifice; remembering those who sacrificed their lives in service to our country. On this weekend, we celebrate

Resting in Christmas

One of the greatest life-challenges for me is moving past “things are not all as I wish they were.” The main reason is because “things are not all as I wish they were.” Especially at Christmas. I think the hack here is to focus on what you do have and not what you don’t. To

The American Ideal of Freedom

America is a place but it is just as importantly an idea. A really noble idea. Freedom. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” -Thomas Jefferson When

Rev. Shane’s Christmas Scheduling Hacks

As the Sr. Pastor of what sociologists call a megachurch, I cannot imagine many people who have a more aggressive December schedule than I do.  In December we do everything we do the other eleven months and then add ten to twelve additional worship services.  In addition, there are family commitments, Christmas parties and social

Christmas Musings on Righteousness, Justice and the Kingship of God (From Psalm 97)

Christmas Musings on Righteousness, Justice and the Kingship of God Psalm 97: 1 The Lord is king, let the earth rejoice “The Lord is king” is a quite alien statement to those of us who live in a democracy and often inaccurately apply our democratic sensibilities to the Kingdom of God. We have this humanistic

A Dozen Pre-Thanksgiving Hacks (2020 Edition)

  1) Make everyone stay at the table for a full hour.  Set a timer.  No one leaves. No one.  And not a bit of dessert or a sip of coffee for forty-five minutes. 2) No phones at the table. None. If you look at your phone, it goes in the turkey carcass with the