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We can get creative when we need to give a reason for not doing something we know we should do. For example, a well-known church leader asked other church leaders through Twitter what they had heard from parishioners as reasons for not attending church. Here are some of the more interesting “reasons” they heard: “We […]

Immediate past Governor of Tennessee Bill Haslam has just released a new book Faithful Presence: The Promise and Peril of Faith in the Public Square. He begins this fresh look at the place of spiritual values in politics by describing the depth and breadth of the divide in America now. He says simply “We are […]

Serving is powerful. It is transformative and its impact can be surprisingly wonderful. An Inasmuch event of a good number of years ago verifies this. Leaders targeted a neighborhood where there was a high crime rate, rampant drug use and poverty. When the residents were asked if volunteers could make repairs to their homes, many of which were […]

Not everyone who serves is a servant. Not everyone who does something for someone else is serving. If you Google “serving,” you will see plenty of articles about military service. I was in the Army, but I do not think of that time as serving. If I had been in combat, I might feel differently, but I had a […]

Remember the days when airplanes had to circle the airport for a while prior to landing? That image is analogous to how most of us have been feeling during COVID—living life in a holding pattern until it’s safe to resume “normal” activities. That is certainly true for churches for whom week-to-week activities still do not look anything […]

From time to time Compassionaries will feature a guest blog written by someone outside the Inasmuch ministry. This one is a guest blog written by Dr. Bill Wilson, President of The Center for Healthy Churches. Learn more about Bill from his bio below. Churches ask me regularly how they can not only survive their current […]

This blog is a follow-up to To Be or Not To Be a Good Samaritan. So, if you haven’t read it yet, you may want to go back to it. Mercy is Messy Some readers of the last blog questioned whether it is wise to try to be a Good Samaritan in all circumstances. For example, […]

See if this sounds familiar. I was driving down the highway when I saw someone slowly, very slowly driving on the shoulder of the road. When I got closer, I saw their left rear tire was flat and they were obviously attempting to make it to an upcoming exit to stop and maybe get help […]

Now that I have your attention, let me explain. Mercy ministry is a necessary part of what it means to follow Jesus. God’s love in Jesus needs an outlet. People in need are the best “outlet” or recipients of Jesus’ love through us, his ministers. As a coach needs a team to lead and a […]

If you have ever tried to recruit volunteers to serve, there is a good chance you said something like “You will feel good when you do it.” You said that because it’s true. We do in fact feel good when we serve. As a pastor, I often told my congregation there is a special joy […]