Durocher's Blog

"Why don't we go to the elders and have them anoint me with oil and pray over me", asked Maggie when she was sick and near death. "Why don't we"? "Why don't we"? I asked myself. "Why"? "I don't know. I suppose we could". "Well, it says in the bible to go to the elders if you are sick", Maggie said. "I know". After some time, maybe six months? I don't know, but after waaaaay too much time, I finally agreed to go to the elders and have them anoint Maggie with oil and pray for her. Why so long? One reason--unbelief. Which of course, is rooted in pride. I am a Mr. Fix it, so I felt like we could handle it without 'bothering' any one else. Wrong. Also, I had an unbelieving attitude that thought if God chose not to heal Maggie then we'd be embarrassed. That sounds so odd and stupid even to say it in a sentence. Have I not even read the bible? God chooses to heal some and not oth...

Bum dads One of the most natural instincts of a father is to protect and train his children. Would any of us deny this? Yet we find ourselves in a situation in our country where there is an overwhelming abundance of bum dads and inadequate dads. What has happened? How did we get here? Am I a bum dad? Even for us who try to do right, we know we are so ill-trained and inadequate. Is there hope? Yes! We can turn this trend around one family at a time--beginning with you. Will it be easy? No. Will it be worth it? Absolutely! Destined for destruction You probably could not find someone who, at twenty years old, would be more likely to be voted as "future bum dad" than me. I'm not afraid to say it. Divorce sucks--and its consequences are even worse. Divorce happens, but we take the cards we are dealt and move forward. But how? How does a young man find the ability, wisdom and knowledge how to be a good dad? It starts with our Father in heaven who c...

If you've ever "loved and lost", you know what a broken heart feels like. We have no idea what a broken heart is, but we sure know what it feels like. Try explaining a broken heart to a robot. Any robot except Johnny Five, that is! Short Circuit is a great movie that demonstrates how difficult it is to translate heart issues into concrete ideas. Heart issues are uniquely human. You might say they are what make us human. Sometimes we try to impose our heart issues onto beloved pets, but in the end, they still eat crap. Animals are instinctual not emotional thinking creatures. God refers to our heart in many ways in the bible. As a matter of fact, 'mind' and 'heart' are often translated from the same word and are determined by the context and are quite interchangeable. God leaves us with the impression that our heart is our emotional center and our center of desires. In a way, our heart represents who we are. When someone sins against y...

In Luke 10:2 we read this: “ The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest". What do you think of when you read this? Who are the laborers? Do you think Jesus wanted us to get giant combine harvesters and get them to do all the work for us? Do you think of your pastors as the combine harvesters? Do you think Jesus was thinking of mass production? Now I know probably none of you thinks this is the correct interpretation. But. How many of us treat our pastors like they are combine harvesters? "The pastors are suppose to do all the work. That's their job". Are they? Did Jesus do all the work? Or, as the context of this passage(Luke 10) shows, did he send out his disciples to do the work? Laboring sheep? As I discussed elsewhere ( Sheepdog blog ), Jesus used sheep to illustrate our relationship with Him, but when it comes to this illustration, where a...

" Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings..." Rejoice? When is the last time you "rejoiced" when a fiery trial came upon you? It hurts... Text message: Him: "Hey brother if you could spare the time could you pray for me? Under attack again by the enemy--very tiresome. Can't wait for Christ to come back". Me: "Remember. You're not a loser. You're not a liar. You're not abandoned and you're never alone". Him: "I keep praying so hard and feel better for a while then spiral down again. It makes me feel my faith is not strong enough at times". Me: "Exactly. You don't need faith when you are on top. The devil comes prowling when he sees you down". Him: "So God is waiting for me to crumble to my knees? I have every night. I start...

The Chief Shepherd Take a look at this photo. What do you see? A shepherd--some sheep--and what? The sheepdog! The trusted old sheepdog. If Jesus is the good shepherd and His sheep know His voice, then how can anyone else be a shepherd of His flock? Peter left us with this instruction, " So I exhort the elders among you... shepherd the flock of God that is among you , exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory". The sheepdog Within the bible we find many illustrations about shepherds and sheep, but there is much variation in how the comparison is used. Here is an example that Jesus used about sheep: ' Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves'.  I thin...

Life is pain The world is a difficult place. The world takes no prisoners. The world prowls around seeking who it may devour. The world will abandon you. The--world--will--abandon--you. " Life is pain, Highness, anyone who says differently is selling something ". Dread Pirate Roberts If you are human, you have surely felt abandoned some time in your life. Sure, some have it worse than others, but let's not kid ourselves, we all feel it some time or another. It might be by a family member, or a friend. How about a teacher or a co-worker. A parent or a government. We all feel it. When you feel it, what exactly does it feel like? REJECTION! That's what it feels like. It feels like rejection. Do you know why? Because it IS rejection. When we are abandoned, we are left in favor of something else. We are rejected and that other thing, whatever it may be, is chosen over us. When we are abandoned we desperately want to feel loved, to feel accepted,...

Freaky Pentys--Which stands for Freaky Pentecostals  Ben was intently looking down at the maintenance log for the helicopter. Ben was our new mechanic. We had just recently moved to a new state and I began a new job. I found out that Ben was a believer so I wanted to know where he gathered for church meetings. "Ben", I said. "You go to an Assembly of God, don't you"? "Yes", Ben replied while never lifting his eyes from his work. "Do they......um...do they roll around in the isles and bark like dogs"? Awkward pause. Ben lifted his eyes then quickly dropped them back to his work and replied, "Do you want them to"? How many of you have had this conversation? Or a conversation similar to it? "Are you one of those Calvinists"? "Are you charismatic"? "Are you dispensational"? We love labels.  " You're Presbyterian? I know about you. You are the 'Frozen chosen'. God chose...

What do you fear? Fear falling? Fear dying? Fear losing a family member? Fear losing a job? Fear losing money? Fear losing health? Fear that others don't like you? Fear the Boogy Man? What is it that you fear? God instructs us to fear Him. Is fearing God the same as fearing spiders? Don't skim too quickly through the following quotations--let them sink in. Jesus had this to say about fear: “ I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows ." And John tells us this: "God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfecte...

I recall a time back in Montana when Kim(Maggie) said to me, "You're home, but you're not home." She said my mind was always somewhere else. That I'm willing to serve everybody in the community, but not my family. She was right. I was running everywhere--helping everyone--involved in every "church ministry". I had to realize I had moved from "single" guy to family leader. My season of life had changed and I hadn't. We live in a world today where many men and women never stop being "single" with children. Many children today live in the same home with their biological parents, but they belong to a different family. Everyone in the family belongs to a different family. Even husbands and wives belong to different families. I have even heard of husbands and wives going to different churches. Absurd! It should not be this way. You might ask, "How can family members actually be part of a different family"? Well, the old sayin...

So they would have you think Many years ago I sat in the pastor's office at church. I had lots of questions--he had lots of answers. One question I asked him was about how to meet others in the church and develop relationships with them. I complained that everyone is always so busy. He responded with an assured smile, "So they would have you think".  "So they would have me think"?  I sat bewildered. Did he just say they are putting up a front? And this whole time I thought it was just me! It probably was me, but at least it wasn't ALL me! The American way It really is isn't it? The American way, I mean. Being busy is just as American as apple pie. We puff our chests out and say, "I've been really really busy lately"! Even if we've just spent the last 12 hours watching reruns of Criminal Minds, we still say we have been busy. Why is this? It's the American way. It's woven into the fabric of our culture. Not ...

What tribe are you from? There is a new trend among some Christians. What Christian tribe do you belong to, is the question being asked. What Christian tribe are you from? Tribe--community--gang. What's the difference? Not only do you have to identify your tribe, but you also need to learn how to live within this tribe. Living within a tribe is called a community. There are hundreds of books written on the subject of community. I've actually read many good ones. And some not-so-good ones. Why would someone write a book on how to live within a tribe/community? Is something the matter with us? Isn't living in a community as basic and instinctual as sleeping and eating? Sampler Look around, we have online communities, gay communities, gardening communities, homeschool communities, church communities, suburb communities, golf communities, exclusive communities, gated communities, ecovillage communities, intentional communities, Amish communities, hippie commun...