The lesson we should learn from this is that we can have all the right answers but still be wrong. We can say all the right things and still be far away from where we need to be.

But if we are truly church leaders, we must diligently seek God as to how to be intentional about producing disciples that are producing disciples. It won’t happen by accident.

As I have grown older, I have become increasingly comfortable with allowing God to be mysterious. This has relieved me of some of the pressure to provide explanations for particular events.

The problematic words in these translations are “always” and “continually.” I find that I have lapses when I allow my pride to take over and I think (and too often say) stupid stuff.

If we are to accomplish all that God has for us, we need to remember that it is a team effort and we stand or fall based on how well we nurture every member.

The problem is that I can maintain an intellectual understanding of Jesus’ teaching while I fail to live it out. I can easily rationalize the gap between what my head understands and what I choose to live out.

Would someone who visited your home or church walk away rejoicing that the grace of God was on display?

God does not always choose to work within the boundaries of our established traditions. Traditions can be helpful as a point of reference, but they can also be shackles that keep us from effectively engaging the culture around us. When our tradition ceases being a bridge and becomes a wall, it is longer contributing to the purpose of the church.