I was scrolling through my newsfeed the other day and noticed a post by one of my Brazilian friends. She had posted a photo of a book she is reading.  The title of the book caused me to pause, “Jesus, O Maior Lider Que Ja Existiu,” “Jesus, The Best Leader Who Ever Lived.” My friend said she was inspired by the book and hashtagged it as #TheBookoftheMonth.

I googled a bit and discovered the book to be a Portuguese translation of an American writer’s bestseller – that’s what the author’s website says, anyway,  Jesus, CEO: Using Ancient Wisdom for Visionary Leadership.  Apparently they could not find literal Portuguese translation of the silly English title. Amazon describes the content of the book as, “Following the example of Jesus, a ‘CEO’ who built a disorganized ‘staff’ of twelve into a thriving enterprise, a handbook for corporate success details a fresh, profound approach to motivating and managing others that translates to any business.”

I am pretty sure I wouldn’t like the book. Continue reading →

This coming Wednesday, March 1, is Ash Wednesday. We Presbyterians are late-comers to marking the day, and we still don’t do much with Mardi Gras – Fat Tuesday. We sometimes join our Anglican friends for a Pancake Supper the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, but are never sure exactly why we are doing so.

There is no explicit Biblical warrant for a season of penitence prior to Easter or for that season to begin with the imposition of ashes on our foreheads. The lack of Biblical warrant was enough for our Reformed fathers and mothers to reject the observance of Lent, and Ash Wednesday as its beginning.

It took a long time for Presbyterians, especially those of us with a little Covenanter and Seceder blood running through our veins, to find some value in the disciplines of Lent and of Ash Wednesday, in particular.

On Wednesday, forty days, excluding Sundays, before Easter, we Presbyterians will gather for an evening Communion service in the Sanctuary. Continue reading →

He turned out to have been the perfect storm. At least for me he was. I have not yet talked with our son in Boston. Yesterday’s snowstorm, Winter Storm Niko, we are told, was supposed to hit us hard.  3”-6” became 8”-10”, and we were thought to be foolish if we did not have at least a month’s supply of bread and milk in our storehouses.

Niko was an underperformer for those of us in the Philadelphia area, and that made Niko the perfect storm.  Around our house Niko showed up with the low side of his 3 to 6 and just kind of gave up on doing much of anything around 11:00 in the morning. The unmet expectations were fine with me. Continue reading →

My older brother John will join us in Guatemala next week. More precisely we, the Guatemala Mission Away Team, will join him in Guatemala next week. John retired to Antigua, Guatemala, about a year ago and he met last year’s Away Team on the last night of the trip when we stayed in Antigua prior to heading the airport in Guatemala City the next morning. After spending time with some of the team members and hearing some of our stories, he wondered if he might join us in our work in San Lucas Toliman this year. The rest is history, as they say.

So next Saturday afternoon, John will greet us at the Guatemala City Airport and become a part of the LPC Guatemala Mission Away Team.  John brings a wealth of construction experience and skill to the team – commodities sorely lacking in his younger brother – and will contribute much to our work.

John knows the details of the trip – when to be at the airport and the “what to bring” list every team member receives, and I will be in touch again this week to remind him of those details. But, still, I owe him another letter, a big-picture, why and how, letter.  It will go something like this: Continue reading →

I look to the morning readings from the Psalter to help guide my prayers for the day.  As LPC people know, we have been praying for two faithful women in our congregation, both of whom are in the midst of chemotherapy treatments for the cancer that afflicts them. This past Wednesday morning’s reading included the “Teth” section of Psalm 119 (Psalm 119:65-72). Verse 71 found its way into my thoughts and would not leave even after repeated attempts to send it away.

“It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes.”

I typically form prayers, prompted by the Psalm, for each of these courageous women and send them along as a morning email. Scripture calls us to pray for one another, and I hope the prayers I send day by day might be an encouragement for the long journey through chemo. Continue reading →