BLOG

Two fathers in the same town with similar families and life circumstances faced a similar trial. Both received word from a mutual friend that their middle school boys were involved in some mild illegal activity. How the two fathers responded made a lasting difference.The first father saw the crisis as an opportunity to make changes in his own schedule to give his son more time, and to become more involved in his life, talking regularly about his values and the things in life

Saparmurat Niyazov was president of the former Soviet block nation, Turkmenistan, from 1990 until his death in 2006. While his title was “President”, he changed the title to “President for Life”, declaring it to be a lifelong position with no need for ongoing elections, also making him dictator. He was eccentric to say the least, and made sweeping senseless legal changes at every whim. Among other things, he banned keeping dogs in the capital city, along with opera, ballet, m

I love Thanksgiving and wish I could enjoy it, but the merchandisers want us thinking about Christmas.

They often are not.I recently visited a couple of locations where television programs are regularly taped for the History Channel. I was surprised both times. Television can be very deceiving. Some of it is due to the nature of camera lenses and TV screens, and the way our imagination fills in what is past the camera’s periphery. But a lot of it is intentional deception written into the director’s instructions to give a desired illusion. All-in-all, these two locations were e

I know that’s not what you really want. Everyone who has ever lived has had an internal desire to make a difference, to live in such a way that their lives will outlast their time on earth. And you’re no exception. But a lot of people go through life without making any kind of impact. In your heart, you don’t want that to happen. But here’s how it often does. No commitment is ever made to anything worthwhile, outside of their own consumption. So they never accomplish anything

Jim Carey said, “I think everyone should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer.”

Regarding the right balance in teamwork, Darryl Zanuck wrote, “If two people on the same job agree all the time, then one is useless. If they disagree all the time, both are useless.”I’d have to say that besides the usual expressions of gratitude for this weekend, one of my greatest blessings in life is to serve alongside a diverse, godly and gifted team. I am truly thankful for our staff here at The Bridge. They challenge me and each other, and then work together as a powerf

Today (Thursday) is a sick day at the Zieglers. Linda, Erica, Brock and I all have the stomach flu. We got it from Madison. Thank you very much Sweetie Pie!So Brock and I were sitting in our living room reading and Brock had his music playing and as I’m listening to the lyrics to the song, I thought, “That doesn’t sound good.” So I said to Brock, “What kind of song is that? ‘I want you to pull my britches down’?"“What? No Dad, it’s, 'I want you to burn my bridges down!’"I gue

While The Bridge is one of the most peaceful churches you will ever encounter, being full of people and led by frail men, we do face minor conflict from time to time. Probably the most common surrounds the purpose of our church and what kind of church we believe we are supposed to be. When you think of it, once that is settled, most other decisions are simplified and we are able to clearly see our way through to the things we do and don’t do, and how we approach every ministr

Maybe you remember President Obama saying that shortly after he came into office. I did listen to his speech on Wednesday after the Republican wave in the House and Senate, but I didn’t hear him reiterate those words. :-) But elections do have consequences.That’s true in politics and in life. You probably know me well enough to know that I don't use my platform or this blog for politics. I’m not talking about politics here. I’m talking about life. You see, an election, at its

Loneliness is hard. And this is the hardest time of year for being lonely. For some, it’s a temporary period. But for others, it’s been a lifelong trial. God cares about you in this struggle, and he has answers for our problems. If you are lonely, many Bible characters could identify with you. Even Jesus knew the pain of abandonment, rejection, and the feeling of being all alone in the world. You might not be able to change some of the circumstances that have led to this, but

You should skip Thanksgiving this year if you are a grumbler, complainer, or generally negative person. After all, you’ll just be a hypocrite. Why would you celebrate a day that you don't believe in? If your modus operandi is to look for what you think is wrong and voice it, just forget the day. Everyone will be looking at you like, “What’s she dong here?” Now if you are wondering if this post is written for you… just check with a friend or two :-). Seriously, Thanksgiving is

My wife was pretty frustrated while trying to open one of those impossible clear molded plastic packages, “I wonder how many people wind up with stitches from these stupid plastic packages. I’ll bet the emergency room is full of injured people at Christmastime." I didn’t blame her for being frustrated. I avoid buying anything packaged that way if I can help it. I actually pay more for an item when it is in a box or a simple container, rather than having to fight with a heat s

Is Thanksgiving a Christian holiday? That depends on how you celebrate it. There’s nothing Christian about gluttony. While I love football, and a lot of committed Christians will be playing in the traditional Thanksgiving games, there’s nothing Christian about football per se. Just having the day off and getting together with a big group of people will not make the holiday “Christian”.On the other hand, the concept is deeply Christian. The worship book of the ancient Israelit

So in my last post I wrote about the value of meditation. But for some of you, you feel left in the dark. You know what meditation is and that the Bible encourages it, and that it is valuable, but you have no clue how to do it or where to start. I hope this follow-up post helps.My favorite method starts with choosing a portion of Scripture with between a half dozen to a couple dozen verses. The number of verses will determine how many days it will take to study and fully assi

Is Meditation even Christian? Isn't that like a Hindu or Buddhist thing? Meditation in eastern mystical religions focus on emptying the mind. Christian meditation is altogether different. The Bible encourages meditation as a filling of the mind with the Word of God.Joshua instructed God’s people to “meditate day and night” on His Word (Joshua 1:8). Psalm 1 tells us that the wise man meditates on God’s Word day and night. David prayed in Psalm 19:14, “May the meditation of my

Nothing short of heartbreaking. 10,000 lives lost…at the time of this writing. Heartbreaking.Then we ask, “Where is God in this?”As a Christian, I believe that God is sovereign. That means that he is in control. He is in charge. Jesus reassured us that even a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without our Heavenly Father caring about it. So what about this typhoon, the human suffering, the children? Does God care more about a sparrow learning to fly than he does people?Jesus

I’m being asked a lot of questions regarding the change in Illinois law allowing for same-sex marriage. Some are wondering if the Bible says anything about the subject, and if so, what. Others are expressing their concern for the disintegration of traditional marriage. Some are upset that the church is not doing enough to preserve Biblical marriage in America.“What is your position?” or, “Why aren’t we talking about this as a church?” are some of the questions I am getting

With Thanksgiving behind us, Christmas is coming! Every year around this time I get questions from moms and dads asking for my opinion on Santa Claus: “Did you tell your kids there is a Santa?” Some are very adamant: “Santa Claus is a replacement of Jesus in this secularized society and just another way of spreading the materialism of this age.” Others see the fable as harmless delightful fantasy: “I believed in Santa when I was a kid and it didn’t hurt me! It’s just a

I grew up hunting with my dad, who grew up hunting with his dad, and the tradition went back generations. So for Christmas when I was 12 I received my first real gun. I had already taken the hunter’s safety course, had lots of practice with BB guns and a pellet gun, as well as plenty of practice shooting times and lessons from my dad using his guns. But this was special. This was a real shot gun that I could use for duck and pheasant hunting, and it was all mine. My dad bough