The only thing that Ferguson proves is how deeply divided our nation is. People are hurting. People are angry. People are losing hope. People are becoming distrustful.

In to the darkness of bitterness, violence, and division…unto you a child is born.

There will be a day when there will be no more violence, no more death, no more anger, no more crime.

There will be a day when the police, armies, wars will no longer be the way we deal with conflict.

There will be a day when all people will be treated with respect and dignity, honor and charity, mercy and justice because they are our brothers and sisters.

We long for that day. Come Lord Jesus. ‪#‎Advent‬ ‪#‎Christmas‬

“Kingdom and church are not the same thing,” says Richard Rohr.

This is a fantastic reminder.

Ministry is difficult. Even though we try to make church about the kingdom, the harsh reality is that budgets have to be met, programs need to be effective, and our churches have to grow. And too often, the pressures of growing the church, ensuring the effectiveness of programs, and that budgets are indeed met get too much of our attention and too much of the leader’s focus.

And before we know it, what we end up being about is getting people plugged into church, getting people into programs that meet their needs, and getting people to support the budget. We know it ought to be about the kingdom but we end up making disciples of churches instead of disciples of the kingdom.

It’s a travesty when that happens. Churches can’t change people. Only God can through establishing his kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven.

Our churches are only needed as churches establish God’s kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven. As soon as the church forgets this vision, the church fails her mission.

“Kingdom and churches are not the same thing.” Rohr continues and says, “The church is a means of pointing to the kingdom of God, just as John the Baptist pointed toward the Lamb of God. When the church does not point beyond itself to eternity and God, but only tries to make you loyal to the church, it’s entering into idolatry.”

Thank you, brother Rohr, for this needed and necessary reminder.

The Dallas Cowboys are playing the Jacksonville Jaguars in London this Sunday. To help fans connect the Dallas Cowboys chose a hashtag for fans to use for the game.

#CowboysUK

Seriously?!?!

#cowboysuk

And no one caught this?

I’m actually glad this happened. It puts some of our bulletin bloopers and my mistakes in perspective. It just goes to show we’re all human, and we all make mistakes.