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Good old Sports Illustrations!

Cartoon of a man praying at a pulpit. He says, "And we give thanks for a football season that supplies ample sports illustrations."

Over the years, I’ve heard plenty of sermon sports illustrations. You can always tell when a pastor loves a particular sport. And what’s not to love about a story that illustrates courage, determination, and a little of the unexpected?

But like anything else, they can move into the realm of the cliché. Cartoonists aren’t immune to this either. There used to be tons of cartoons based on a desert island theme. But think what good came of it? If that never happened, we wouldn’t have had Gilligan’s Island!

Stories are important in any sermon. Jesus taught in parables for a good reason. They illustrate truths in a way that engages the audience and made them see differently. And when we have creative teachers bring a story to life, amazing things happen!

When an illustration is used effectively, it can make a powerful point. But if the audience can’t relate to your story, it can fall flat. The old proverb, know your audience, can be very important. That’s partly why sports illustrations have always stood out to me. While I love history, I’ve never been much of a sports guy.

Yet, I like sports illustrations for the following reasons:

  • They frequently illustrate perseverance
  • Many demonstrate how to overcome adversity through preparation and patience
  • They can show the value of teamwork

So let us be thankful for a new round of sports illustrations. While I’m at it, I’m thankful for autumn, cooler temperatures, and a little pumpkin spice latte.

Cartoon of a man praying at a pulpit. He says, "And we give thanks for a football season that supplies ample sports illustrations."

I drew this cartoon for the November 2022 CHOGNews.

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Crisis at the Welcome Center

Cartoon of a guy coming up to an annoyed woman at a welcome center. The woman says, "You again?"

In some churches, there is a little booth called, “The Welcome Center.” It’s a place where people can get information about church activities and get to know church members and staff.

Well of course, when I first heard the term, I wondered what would happen if you placed someone there that wasn’t very welcoming. Maybe a volunteer had a rough start to the morning. Or perhaps there is one guest that is a little annoying like this cartoon and the host just wasn’t in the mood to handle it.

There are ways to make a welcoming center more welcoming. As this post suggests, staffing it well is important. It mentions four mistakes in staffing a welcome center. Is having no one at the welcome center better than having Ms. Grumpy? I’m sure some churches have to face that dilemma on some Sundays.

Cartoon of a guy coming up to an annoyed woman at a welcome center. The woman says, "You again?"

I drew this cartoon for the November 2022 CHOGNews.

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New Article: Asian-Indian Congregation Launches in the United States

I recently wrote an article about a unique church plant. It is an Asian-Indian congregation that is in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Asian-Indian Congregation Launches in the United States
Published July 3, 2021

One aspect I liked about writing this article is how it upends stereotypes. I would not have expected a need for an Asian Indian church in Texas, but apparently, there is quite a need. The church had a great launch and appears to be going strong.

Most people don’t realize there has been a history of Christianity on the Indian Subcontinent almost from the very beginning of the Church. Tradition says, the Apostle Thomas sailed to India and baptized Syrian Christians in the area around 52 AD!

Assumptions and Categories

We make assumptions all the time because it’s easier to come to a conclusion than do the homework. Stereotypes are one way we do that. Another way to do this is by categorizing people and things. But what if something doesn’t fit into our category? What if something is in a category you know nothing about?

For instance, how many languages are spoken in India? Before I wrote the article, I would have assumed most Indian people speak Hindi. But while that’s the official language, there are up to 447 languages spoken on the Indian Subcontinent. The congregation in my article speaks Malayalam. I had no idea this language existed. It can be foolish to jump to conclusions right away about categories!

I love having the privilege to write an article where a learn a few things. Hopefully, I do the same for readers. There is so much knowledge in the world to uncover. I’ve learned over the years it’s wise to admit you don’t have all the knowledge in the world. No matter how knowledgeable a person is, they can’t even come close to knowing it all!

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A Little Live Streaming Event

Cartoon of two people staring at a wet floor. One says, "Maybe we should tell the janitor we just started live streaming."
Published in the July, 2021 "CHOGNews."

I’ve had the pleasure of helping with some live streaming at the church we attend. I’m not talking about an unfortunate incident like in my cartoon, but setting a live presentation of a church service on Facebook Live.

We live in an amazing time where we can use technology on a shoestring budget. It was only a few short years ago that it was a major undertaking to broadcast a live event. Now, anyone with a smartphone can broadcast live. What an amazing world!

And yes, small churches with maintenance issues can have a live stream going on during the live service while they still have plumbing issues in another part of the building. It’s no longer the big broadcasting conglomerates with ample money that can go live. In fact, you could even have a snarky teenager broadcasting the live flooding event while the big event is going on in another part of the building. That is also the nature of today’s technology.

I drew this cartoon for the November 2022 CHOGNews.

Cartoon of two people staring at a wet floor. One says, "Maybe we should tell the janitor we just started live streaming."
Published in the July, 2021 “CHOGNews.”
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Legacies and Households of Faith

I had the pleasure of writing about two pastors with a legacy of faith at CHOGNews: Household of Faith: Pastors Cherish a Long Legacy in the Church of God

Household of Faith: Pastors Cherish a Long Legacy in the Church of God

Similarities

Both pastors had compelling stories on how their legacies affected their call to ministry.

Both pastors emphasized while their family lineage was something to cherish, neither was called just because it was the family business. In fact, they may have hesitated because they didn’t want to enter ministry simply because it was expected of them.

Different Paths

But each traveled on different journeys. to get there.

One pastor ran from his calling and lived a life far from God until he was called back to faith and ministry. It’s a compelling story of redemption. He has been near death twice. He has a testimony that maintains nobody is too far gone to be saved.

The other pastor felt the call after he had been out in the workforce for three years. His career was flourishing, but he found the call to ministry irresistible. He has benefited from the mentorship of his father and is passing that legacy to the next generation.

Families of Origin

I resonated with their stories because, though I haven’t been called to pastor a church, my grandfather was a pastor. I felt similar pressure to perhaps go into ministry because of my legacy. Now mind you, nobody placed that pressure on me but myself. Still, I felt it and didn’t want to succumb to it just because it was part of my ancestry.

At the same time, the legacy of my parents, grandparents, and preceding generations had a profound impact on my life and the lives of my children. While only my maternal grandfather was a pastor, all faithfully lived their lives in powerful ways.

Legacies are important facets of our lives. They don’t totally define us, but they are a part of us. Some of us have great legacies that can be cherished. Others are working through baggage brought on by our family history. Every family has some skeletons in their closet—even good families.

We are not ultimately defined by our past, though it is part of our definition. We can embrace the good aspects of our family of origin and learn from the less than the pristine side of our family of origin.

Today, we have an opportunity to affect our future generations. If we are called, we can answer that call. If we need to address the sins of the past, let’s do it and give the following generations a good start. It reminds me of a song by Steve Green, May all who come behind us find us faithful.