The Christmas season is an opportunity for us to reflect on the first advent of our Savior, even though we may not buy into it as a religious celebration. Since leaving Catholicism I have lost a sense of obligation to celebrate Christmas with religious significance or requirement. There is no biblical command to celebrate the Savior’s birth, no certainty in … Continue reading →
I want to continue some thoughts from my last post and email sent to CrossHope Chapel titled “Pastor Appreciation & Keeping Community.” It had occurred to me that some good may come out of the COVID-19 pandemic for the western church. My thought has been that a remnant within today’s western church may be nudged back to a more biblical … Continue reading →
Yesterday I turned 59 years old and I wasn’t feeling good about it. I took my 50th birthday hard, because I realized that 50 years of my life just filtered through my hands like grains of sand at the beach. Turning 59 was not as bad for me as when I turned 50, but I am wondering about my next … Continue reading →
by H.M.S. Richards The Lord has given to every man his work. It is his business to do it and the devil’s business to hinder him if he can. So surely as God has given you a work to do, Satan will try to hinder you. He may present other things more promising, He may allure you by worldly prospects, … Continue reading →
Organic things go bad. Fruit grows old, vegetables go rotten, and meat will decay. When it comes to organic church groups, the principle is the same. Organic church can go bad, too. I’ve been mauling over this for sometime now and because my blog gets a good deal of traffic on my Simpler Church category posts, I thought the time … Continue reading →
I’m contemplating death today, because I just learned of the passing of Edith Waugh, a former church member from my Rock Hill, South Carolina days and wife of Les Waugh, whom I wrote about in a previous blog post. Edith was also the sitter for my children and allowed me the opportunity to be out and involved with church ministry, … Continue reading →
With the October 21, 2020 passing of my mother, I am beginning to feel what I’ve heard expressed so many times by adult children following the death of their last living parent. I am feeling the sentiment expressed by surviving children who say, “I feel like an orphan.” For me, it’s been over six-weeks of “I feel like an orphan” … Continue reading →
If you follow my Today’s Daily Promise devotionals you have likely noticed that I have recently been using the New International Version, having recently switched from using the English Standard Version. In this post I want to explain why I have been using the NIV again. This story has to begin in 1980 when I became a born again believer … Continue reading →
My mother passed away on October 21, 2020 after a long battle with Alzheimer/Dementia. I wrote about my mother and the smile I miss at my previous blog post titled Irene H. Durkac. Her Catholic funeral mass was conducted on Tuesday, October 27, 2020 in Rossford, Ohio and the funeral home’s obituary was published a few days prior to that … Continue reading →
Love can mean different things to different people, but 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 gives us a clear definition of what love is. All we need to know for how to love our spouse is in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, and I want to share the sixteen points mentioned in this passage of Scripture of what love means. At most of my weddings … Continue reading →
My younger sister and I sat in the living room of our childhood home where my mother laid in her hospice bed. As we talked quietly, trying not to disturb our mother’s rest, I could see my mom open her eyes and fix her gaze toward me with a slight smile. I smiled back and continued the conversation with my … Continue reading →
There is encouragement for you in the account of Jesus speaking with Peter as recorded in John 21:15-19. Peter was discouraged, he felt defeated, and not exactly engaged in the mission that he had previously responded to when the Lord called him. The focal point of this narrative is in John 21:17 when Jesus said to Peter, “Feed my sheep.” … Continue reading →
I’ve been thinking about Revelation 1:10 lately and how it relates to CrossHope Chapel. I probably need to mention that with this pandemic I’ve been thinking a lot about CrossHope Chapel, where we’ve been, where we are, and where we’re heading. This coming January 2, 2021 when we gather we’ll be celebrating our 10th consecutive year of fellowship as a … Continue reading →
I have had at least three conversations in the past two weeks with individuals who have told me that when their church goes back to regular in-person worship services, they will not. All three of these people were from different congregations representing Southern Baptist, Pentecostal, and Nondenominational but all three cited a similar reason as to why they are not … Continue reading →
Many years ago I hosted a syndicated radio broadcast called Ask the Bible which was a listener call-in question and answer radio show in the South Carolina and North Carolina market. It’s hard for me to think of those days or use the phrase “Ask the Bible” without thinking about Les Waugh. Les was a parishioner and elder at a church I … Continue reading →
I was reminded this morning by a friend still living in my home town of Rossford, Ohio that it was 40 years ago today that we graduated from High School in the class of 1980. After the shock wore off that it was 40 years already, it occurred to me that Payton is graduating from High School on this very … Continue reading →
The church I serve as pastor, CrossHope Chapel, does not have an official sign on the dotted line type of local membership. You can’t sign anything that says you want to be a member of CrossHope Chapel or you can’t sign any commitment to be a member of CrossHope Chapel. One becomes a member of CrossHope Chapel by being a … Continue reading →
The COVID-19 crises is changing the ways we do life in America, and it is yet to be seen how much of those normal ways of doing life will return. I suspect a good deal of what was normal a few months ago will come back, but I also suspect a lot will not. I also suspect that it won’t … Continue reading →
It may not be the first Bible promise you have thought of when dealing with your coronavirus anxiety, but it is very applicable. Hebrews 13:8 states, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” Consider this encouraging truth: the Lord Jesus Christ is the same today as He was during any other season of anxiety in your … Continue reading →
The coronavirus is challenging many of the ways we do life in America. Some businesses are discovering that employees can work from home, families are adjusting to actually spending more time together, and church members are realizing that a weekly formal program may not be as necessary to their personal spiritual growth as they once thought. I am guessing that … Continue reading →
I don’t want to call this a rant, though in some ways that is how it is swelling up within me. In recent months and years I have found it disheartening to see so many young pastors advertising their know-how as a commodity to sell to other pastors in order to be like them in their wisdom, experience, and success. … Continue reading →
In 2006 I was working at a local hospital as a chaplain and taken back by a high number of patients who could express and articulate their personal belief in Jesus Christ and convictions in biblical doctrines, yet who also had no involvement and fellowship in any church congregation. Many of these same individuals also shared stories with me of … Continue reading →
My Dad, Louis S. Durkac, died this morning, September 4, 2019. He was 91 years old and the adopted father of 5 adopted children, and he himself was adopted. He died just 2 days shy of his 67th wedding anniversary with my Mom, Irene, whom he leaves behind in a fight against dementia. I am the middle child of the … Continue reading →
I belong to a Facebook group of some 4000 small church pastors, and recently someone asked what “What would be your advice to a new pastor?” The first thought that came to my mind was “Study, study, study.” Then as I thought it over further, a slew of things came to mind, so here they are… • Study God’s Word, … Continue reading →