Chapter 2 In the weeks that followed, Harold Happy frequently reflected on the lessons the angel had taught his family. There seemed to be a new air of genuine contentment in the household. And an air of peace, Harold thought, “Yes, peace that passes understanding.” The school year was drawing to a close. It was time to think about a summer vacation. That evening at dinner he brought the subject up to the family. “I put in for my vacation days today at work. It looks like we will have a full two weeks in early August. That will give […]

Chapter One This tale begins as many other famous cautionary tales do – “Once upon a time.” Once upon a time there was a very ordinary man who happened to go by the name Mr. Happy. Mr. Happy had a lovely wife and two exceptional children. His wife, unsurprisingly, was named Lovely, and his two children were Strong and Pretty, though everyone knew them by their nicknames Steve and Polly. As happens so often in these tales, Mr. Happy had an unexpected adventure one afternoon. He was driving home from work, minding his own business, when he came upon an […]

We had occasion on one of our trips to England to be entertained by a vivacious and imaginative boy of five years. He wanted us to play the old fashioned, and now out of favor, card game similar to “Old Maid” or “Go Fish” called “Happy Family.” We feigned ignorance of the rules of the game and gave him free rein in guiding us through it. In startlingly adult fashion, he made up the rules as we went along, which always seemed to favor him! On a later visit, the little fellow’s grandparents patiently shepherded us around Barnstaple, Devon until […]

By Teri Ong In Part One of this essay, I introduced the “Planned Giving Toolkit,” a new program recently rolled out Regular Baptist Ministries. It is being promoted as a means for revitalizing church ministries by getting people excited (or should I say “energized”?) about tithing on their retirement plans and/or net worth so that God will have enough money in ten years for the spread of the Gospel. Evidently, the prospect of millions of dollars coming in as the troublesome (a.k.a. “change resistant”) oldsters go out, is enough to make any congregation jump for joy as they envision having […]

By Teri Ong Something very unexpected came in the mail this week– a Montgomery Ward mail order catalog. The brick-and-mortar Montgomery Ward store at the Greeley Mall closed its doors about 20 years ago. I didn’t know the company was still in existence. Back in the day, Wards, Sears, and Penney’s sent out two enormous seasonal catalogs, plus the famous Christmas “wish books.” The only one of the “big three” left at our mall is J.C. Penney. Sears shut down a year or two ago. Every week it seems that some retail icon is down-sizing, re-organizing, consolidating, or quitting. But […]

By Teri Ong Church revitalization ministries are intent on getting churches down to business– the business of getting people in their doors and money in their financial accounts. Some Revitalizers base their theories and their work on the model (or variations of it) propounded in the book To Dream Again. The writer charts the life cycle of the average church through to its ultimate death. In order to put off the inevitable, churches need to have “vitality” and “sustainability.” Those are code words for “people” and “money” by his own admission. Having a lot of people around provides a social […]

by Teri Ong A “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.  John 8:44 I had a sad conversation with a young woman at church recently. She is in her early twenties and is studying business at the University of Northern Colorado. She was born in a refugee camp […]

Insights from G. K. Chesterton by Teri Ong  We once asked a friend what he was doing since his retirement. He had been very active in promoting the Christian worldview in a variety of arenas, had published a number of books, and spoke regularly to numerous church and civic groups. However, when we asked him this question, he replied, “God told me to sit down and shut up.” I am not sure how God convinced him of that directive. That is between him and God.  But one thing I know; too many Christians sit quietly on their hands in some […]

by Teri Ong  In his April 7 column in the Greeley Tribune,  “Re-thinking Bible and Same-sex Relationships,” Jeff Cook states that his purpose is to get evangelical Christians to “reconsider what we believe about monogamous same sex relationships.” He argues that Bible scholars misunderstand how the New Testament writers taught ethics, but he, as an “ethicist” understands it better than the Bible scholars. I agree with him that Jesus’ teaching of virtue is not “focused on rule-following,” but Cook fails to understand that Jesus’ teaching sets a higher standard than the rules, not a lower standard. For example, turning the other cheek, […]

By Teri Ong Jeff Cook has done it again. A few weeks ago he set up a false tension between so-called social justice and freedom. This time he has set up a false dichotomy between the nasty Bible-thumpers who approve of “flaying terrorists” and sweet-tempered LGBT’s. He writes, with seeming sadness, that people who come up with Scripture verses to condemn same-sex marriage, can’t seem to think of a single verse to condemn torture. [See Greeley Tribune, Sunday, April 7, 2019, “Re-thinking Bible and Same-sex Relationships,” page B8]  I think he has set up some “straw” people to support his view. Most of […]