There is a very smart website called SmartPastor.com. The site links interesting tidbits, articles, blogs and other resources for pastors. The man behind the curtain is a pastor from Loveland, Colorado named Jeff Berg. His bio describes his humble beginnings. Born naked, helpless and unable to fend for himself, Jeff Berg overcame his inauspicious start to become the Pastor of Family Ministries at LifeSpring Covenant Church in Loveland, Colorado.  How can you not root for an underdog story like that? Occasionally Jeff will tarnish his Smart Pastor credentials by linking to my humble ramblings. The last time that Jeff linked to my site he described me in a way that brought tears to my eyes. Dave Burchett, the most entertaining Christian author you never heard of, finished his series of posts, “Sentences that change your life.” I was not prepared for such an honor. But I have quickly scribbled some notes on one of my books that hasn’t sold. So here goes… I
Continue reading...

Today’s blog is guaranteed to generate response that is completely unrelated to my point. So I decided to review again one of my favorite public service films of all time. It was called Duck and Cover and the film featured a turtle named Bert. You can enjoy a couple of chuckles by watching this film here. The film spent nine terrifying minutes telling you a nuclear bomb could detonate at any moment. To be fair, the film primarily advocated finding appropriate shelter. But if such shelter was not readily available the very serious announcer suggested you should duck and cover when you saw the bright flash of detonation. While I guess such an action is better than nothing it seems ludicrous that this would be of much value in the event of nuclear attack. When I took a break from being terrified I wondered about some important questions. Like why does a turtle wear a safety helmet? How could the helmet fit inside the shell when Bert
Continue reading...

Parenthood is a tough gig. We have been blessed with three wonderful sons who are, thank God, grownups. My gratefulness that they are grown relates to the current hyper-competitive race to give babies an edge. Today I read a story that may bring a little sanity to infant competition. Parents hoping to raise baby Einsteins by using infant educational videos are actually creating baby Homer Simpsons, according to a new study reported by The Los Angeles Times. That made me chuckle. Can you imagine spending a couple of hundred bucks on baby DVD’s and junior becomes Homer Simpson. Mommy: What do you say when you drop your bottle?Baby:  D’oh!Mommy: Are you hungry?Baby: UMMMMMM….Donuts! Perhaps the babies don’t literally become Homer but the study did find that for every hour a day that babies 8 to 16 months old were shown such popular series as “Brainy Baby” or “Baby Einstein,” they knew six to eight fewer words than other children. Parents aiming
Continue reading...

Saturday was a fascinating day in professional sports. Two enormously gifted men achieved personal milestones. One superstar received adulation and praise. The other generated a mixed response of praise and open disdain. Michael Irvin was inducted into the Football Hall of Fame this weekend. The other superstar, Barry Bonds, tied the revered home run record of Hank Aaron on Saturday. Barry Bond’s story has been well chronicled. While the accusations have never been proven it is overwhelmingly suspected that Bonds benefited from performance enhancing drugs. Bonds has been defiant, arrogant, angry, and sullen as he relentlessly closed in on the record. Fans have taken to wearing asterisk shirts at San Francisco Giant games to make the statement that any records set should have an asterisk attached to denote that the mark is tainted. Barry Bonds has not made it easy to be a fan of his. But the fascinating juxtaposition from Saturday was the adulation poured on Michael Irvin. Irvin was also once an
Continue reading...

Today is a travel day so there is no time to write. I hope you enjoy this gently read post from the past. When I used to visit my family in Kentucky I remember the saying they used when someone thought a little differently. “That boy ain’t right!”, they would note with a smile and shake of the head. That is how I feel today after my “ain’t right” brain somehow linked two widely disparate stories. Story number one was found in The Week Magazine and told about a growing number of multimillionaires who are leaving their money to themselves in the hope they will someday be brought back to life. The Wall Street Journal had originally reported that these very future investors are having themselves cryogenically frozen with the hope that medical advances will allow them to be revived. I don’t know about you but I am really not interested in coming back to life on this planet. Woody Allen’s classic line comes to mind when he
Continue reading...

Johnny Cash had a big hit with his song about a “Boy Named Sue”. Unfortunately it seems like our society has adopted “Sue” as it’s collective middle name. Regular readers of these humble ramblings know my disdain for ridiculous lawsuits. I chronicled the case of the judge who sued for $54 million dollars when a dry-cleaner misplaced his pants. Apparently his pants and mind were both lost in the transaction but sanity finally prevailed and the case was dismissed. Of course, the grieving victim of trouser trauma (can I say that?) is appealing. Then I find a story about a woman in Illinois who is suing a Joliet, Illinois bar. The Chicago Tribune filed this report: A woman who tried to dance atop the bar at a Joliet tavern is suing the establishment after she fell and shattered her ankle. Amy Mueller — a Joliet-area resident in her early 20s, according to her attorney — is seeking more than $50,000 in
Continue reading...

Your humble “Bad Christian” took a little summer hiatus from the daily ramblings last month. July featured a countdown of the top twenty most read articles in the two year life of this blog. The countdown finished with a piece written just a couple of days after hearing about my wife Joni’s diagnosis of breast cancer. That post was called “Sentences That Change Your Life”.  Sixteen months later I can verify how much one sentence changed our lives. It was an odd coincidence that the story was delivered to many of your electronic mailboxes on the same day that ABC’s Robin Roberts announced her breast cancer diagnosis on ‘Good Morning America’. I saw Robert’s brave optimism and strength. But I also saw the emotion and fear of the unknown battle that loomed in the days ahead. It is not an easy journey. But I am sure that Robin Roberts will be an inspiration to women across America. The message that Robin emphasized was the importance of
Continue reading...