Thoughts on Christ and His Word

Rick Warren says that the #1 reason people leave a church is unresolved personal conflicts. Regrettably , this seems to be true. This is how he puts it in a message to his church leaders: "The church is a family. Do families have conflict? Disagreements? Sometimes I violently disagree with my wife. And she violently disagrees with me. But my commitment to her is no less than 100% and vice versa . I can think of some people who’ ve been around here for nearly eleven years and they’re have been times where we’ ve disagreed over different things. But I’m committed to them and they’re committed to me and we’re still here together. I think that people need to learn how to handle conflict without getting a divorce. Too many people want to divorce their church. It’s the easier thing to do. But they go to another church and find out it’s not perfect either. You’re never going to find a perfect church. If you do, don’t join it. Then it won’t be perfect any more." Pau

Joni Eareckson Tada became a quadriplegic after a diving accident in 1967. She was 17 years old at the time and faced a life stuck in a wheelchair unable to use her arms and legs for the rest of her life. One might excuse her if she became frustrated and depressed at life. But she didn ’t just curl up in a corner in useless existence. She drew strength from Christ and began an organization called Joni and Friends ( joniandfriends .org ) to extend the love of Christ to people with disabilities. Her organization has pushed the kingdom of God forward for over 30 years in the United States and around the world. In a conference where Joni was speaking, she was asked how she kept going, serving in spite of her obvious physical limitations. Her answer puts things in perspective: “This is the only time in history when I get to fight for God. This is the only part of my eternal story when I am actually in the battle. Once I die, I’ll be in celebration mode in a glorified body in whole differe