There are some things you just can’t prepare for. One baby begins to wail. the next thing you know, you have a choir of weeping and wailing.
Yes, you can see leadership principles in a group of babies. If you have one charismatic cryer, the whole group will join in within a few moments.
It’s fun when tradition collides with technology! For a few months, I’ve been using my bank’s web payment to pay my tithes and offerings. Why not? I’ve paid all my other bills that way for years. I didn’t expect the feeling of guilt when the offering plate came around even when I knew perfectly well I was giving.
So how do you combat that feeling when someone gives online? You can’t put your smart phone in the offering plate. Printing out a receipt seems tacky. If you wave it off and say, “I gave online,” you’re only calling attention to yourself and sound pretentious. Oh, the dilemmas!
A t-shirt would solve all the awkward exchanges. All the church has to do is pass them out in the back before the service. You can make them big enough to fit over any outfit. And if you decorate your church for the season, you can make them match colors for Lent and Advent!
I drew this cartoon for the July CHOGNews.
Cartoon of two debating men. One says, “Impressive quote. But that isn’t in the Bible. It’s from Benjamin Franklin.”
Why do we like to debate? What is it about a comment here or there that makes me want to get in the last word? Sometimes, when I am making the case about something, I wonder if what I said was really from the source I thought it was. But nobody wants the facts to get in the way of a good argument, do they?
Yesterday, I got into a Twitter argument with a guy pretending to be a nineteenth century preacher. How silly is that? Â He’s making accusations as if he is the reincarnation of this evangelist, and I took him seriously. Sometimes my blood boils about the silliest things.
So keep your head out there! Don’t misquote from the Bible and certainly don’t argue with long-dead saints. It’s just not worth it.
I drew this for the March, 2014 Church of God e-newsletter.
Cartoon of a guy eating a sub sandwich in a church pew while a disapproving elderly woman looks on. the caption reads, “It all began when they allowed coffee in the sanctuary…”
I thought of this idea when I saw a lively forum discussion about allowing or refusing coffee in a church’s sanctuary. Â Some were vehemently opposed to such nonsense. Others were insistent that all parts of the church should be welcoming and as long as it wasn’t a distraction, why not?
Personally, Â I bring my coffee with me into the sanctuary. There was a time this was a no-no in our church. But we let go of that controversy years ago. I haven’t seen anybody bring a full meal into the sanctuary.
When I was younger, I thought of having a pizza delivered into the sanctuary (That would have been a major faux pas then). Hey! if it’s good for the youth group, it would be good for the rest of the church, right? Fortunately, young love and marriage kept me from such foolishness before I had the money to try such a stunt.
It does amaze me how little things like this can get people worked up. We focus on these little irritations because it is so much more difficult to focus on the difficult issues. It’s much more difficult to love your neighbor than to have an opinion on coffee/church etiquette.
I drew this for the February, 2014, Church of God E-newsletter.
Cartoon of a boy speaking to his pastor. He says, “I want to show I appreciate you, Pastor. How about I give you a ride on my scooter?”
October is Pastor Appreciation Month. When I thought of this cartoon, I thought of the various ways people may try to show appreciation that is a little self-focused. Then again, maybe the pastor needs a scooter ride!
I drew this cartoon for the CHOGnews – October, 2013 newsletter.
