"Gotcha!"

by Bob Setzer, Jr.
Gotcha is the universal trademark of the trickster or tease. He or she fires off a prank or pun and waits for a reaction from the target. When realization dawns, the one so afflicted (or delighted!) turns to see the jokester watching in amused glee. The polished provocateur points, winks, and says, "Gotcha!"

There are a lot of gotchas in the Gospels.

One of those occurs in the 18th chapter of  Matthew. Jesus is offering some practical tips on managing the inevitable spats that occur within any family, especially the family of the church. And for once, Jesus' teaching sounds imminently doable. Matthew, notepad at the ready, is scribbling furiously. "This is good!" he muses. "I've got to get this in my book!"

READ MORE

11-Minute Warning

by Bob Setzer, Jr.
Now here's a scary thought: The typical guest visiting our Sunday morning worship service decides within the first eleven minutes whether he or she is coming back! That is one finding of a recent study about reaching those without a church home.

The so-called "eleven-minute rule" means the person negotiating his or her way to the top of Poplar for the first time is not undecided for long. From the moment he or she lands on our property, the clock is ticking. And at every step along the way, he or she is making judgments, consciously and unconsciously, about whether this place and this people are a good fit.

READ MORE

Jesusland

by Bob Setzer, Jr.
Not infrequently, Jesus shows up in some pretty surprising places. According to recent news reports, the face of Jesus has been seen in a pizza sold in Australia, a poppy petal photographed in the high desert of California, and in the swirling images on a tie-dyed T-shirt in Cleveland. (http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/popup?id=2729440)

But of all the Jesus sightings reported in the news of late, the one that most piqued my interest occurred in Kinston, North Carolina. There a utility pole draped in kudzu, created a jaw-dropping sensation. The locals say the kudzu, hanging from the pole and electrical wire, looks like Jesus hanging from his cross. And from the AP photo I saw of this signal event (pun intended), they are right!  (http://www.macon.com/2011/06/29/1614332/holy-kudzu-vine-in-nc-town-said.html).

Kent Hardison, a commuter who passes the kudzu draped utility pole each day, considered blasting the offending vine with herbicide. But as Mr. Hardison peered at the vine, he had an epiphany: "It looks like Jesus!" And then the sobering realization hit home: "You can't spray Roundup on Jesus!"

READ MORE

Church after Church

by Bob Setzer, Jr.
Recently, Jonathan Alderman and I were talking in the parking lot after Wednesday night church. Most veteran FBCers realize the parking lot, as well as the sanctuary, can be holy ground. Often, in encounters on the asphalt, "church after church" unfolds.

That evening, Jonathan and I were talking about his sister, Amelia Anne, who died much too young in 2009. He recalled Amelia Anne's love of stories. Indeed, those of us who knew and loved Amelia Anne can vouch that "story" was her primary dialect.

"Whenever I needed an answer from Amelia Anne about something," Jonathan said, "I could never get a simple yes or no answer. With her, it was always, ‘Let me tell you a story.' Eventually, she would give me an answer to my question, but only after she told her story. Sometimes, the story was the answer."

READ MORE