Author: Allen Bingham

I am a follower of Jesus, husband, father, and pastor of Haymount United Methodist Church in Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA.

When ‘God Bless You’ Is the Only Reward

If you are like me, I want credit for doing the right thing. Maybe it goes back to the Boy Scout challenge “to do a good turn daily.” There is a part of me that wants someone to notice and say something out loud when they catch me “doing something good.” Yet I also know that my character is most often best revealed when no one is watching. Frederick Douglass in a letter to Harriet Tubman once said:

“Most that I have done and suffered in the service of our cause has been in public, and I have received much encouragement at every step of the way. You, on the other hand, have labored in a private way … most that you have done has been witnessed by a few trembling, scared, and foot-sore bondsmen and women, whom you have led out of the house of bondage, and whose heartfelt ‘God Bless You’ has been your only reward.”

When was the last time ‘God Bless You’ was your only reward? What is the treasure you received in that simple blessing?

What Happens on Palm Sunday?

On Palm Sunday:

Joy suddenly turns to sorrow; exaltation to defeat, hosannas to “Crucify him!”

Within the very liturgy of Palm Sunday the tension is evident; traditionally, it is the only day with two Gospel readings—the enervating triumphal entry, and the tragic narrative of crucifixion. Palms turn to passion. It is the way God has designed it, for he “did not count equality with God something to be grasped.”

-Brian Rhea

Introduce Yourself to Someone in the Neighborhood

Social Fitness Challenge #15: Introduce yourself to someone in your neighborhood.

Do you know your next door neighbors? If not, that’s a great place to start this week’s challenge. Getting to know the people who live around you is the perfect way to start to build a strong community. By getting to know your neighbors, you are creating a support network of people who work together to protect and serve the needs of everyone in the group. And you never know – you might make a new friend!

Listen Carefully Rather Than Solve Another’s Problems

Social Fitness Challenge #14: Listen carefully to someone without trying to solve his/her problem.

When someone comes to you with a problem or complaint, offer them a listening ear. To practice active listen you should 1) look into the speaker’s eyes, 2) tell her what you hear in your own words–as much as you can, put yourself in her shoes, 3) clarify by asking questions to ensure you understand the person fully, the whole picture, the points being made, and the meaning to the person, and 4) ask the speaker if she wants advice. If she accepts your offer for advice, then begin to reflect on the advice you would like to give her.

When you are thinking about what you are going to say to a person before he is finished speaking, you are going to miss significant information about his story. More importantly, people don’t always want advice. Sometimes all a person needs is someone to listen.