Sign of the Red Flag (A non-horror short story for Halloween)

This is something different from my normal post. This is not a horror story but a fantasy. It is actually a fun little story. I hope you enjoy this rough draft of.....

Sign of the Red Flag

The battle was lost. 

I couldn’t think of anything that we could do. These confused dangerous people that followed the dragons would win. Elizabeth was wore out, her power depleted. We were offered the opportunity to surrender before the battle began but after so much death, I doubted that they would be willing to accept our surrender now. 

I called over my servant and told him to run back and tell the villagers to prepare to move out. He didn’t realize how bad things were. Christy, Martin and Elizabeth had poured everything they had into this battle. My sword was available, but I was no expert. If I fell in battle the alliance would fall apart. 

I knew if they sent forward their main force we and the villagers would be slaughtered. I looked over at Elizabeth and I knew she was thinking the same thing. Maybe if we surrender it could buy the villagers time to escape. 

I looked around and there was nothing to tie my mostly white handkerchief to. I decided that my sword would do. I carefully drew it holding back the flame inside that wanted to ignite. I took the handkerchief stuck it on the end and before anyone could stop me I jumped over the rocks that Martin had moved to protect us.

I noticed the look of shock and fear on the face of the village leader. I didn’t realize why he had such a look but didn’t take time to think what it meant.

When I took the first few steps it seemed that every mental attack was aimed at me. I took a few more steps and stumbled before a small tree. I thought that maybe I should cut a branch and place the white flag of it. I quickly removed the handkerchief and brought my sword down against the tree. It took just a few seconds and the tree was ready. The handkerchief was tied to the top and I held it high in my left hand my naked sword down by my legs but a little out so that they could see where it was. 

I continued to walk slowly toward the enemy. Some of their warriors continued to send attacks in my direction but it seemed as if very thing had paused. I heard some yelling behind me. I knew it was my servant yelling out to the villagers. 

I saw a table sized rock not twenty feet in front of the stones that protected their main force. I planned to go there and lay my sword down. right before I reached the stone I saw it and my heart froze.

 A red flag came up from behind the stones right in front of me.

They meant to destroy us. I didn’t know what to do to show they they didn’t have to do this. As I looked at the stone in front of me rather than lay my sword down I jumped up on it and started waving the flag back and forth. 

I saw more red flags emerge first ten then twenty then so many I couldn’t count.

Then I heard the cheer from the ridge behind. I glanced behind me and the villager that I had sent word to move out had all come to the edge of the battle. The small group of defenders that we had been fighting with had moved from behind their defenses to stand on the open field behind me. 

In the confusion of the moment, I forgot about holding back the power of the sword and it burst into living flame. I looked forward again, now seeing a sea of red flags.

 I yelled “SURRENDER” at the top of my lungs. I meant to say, "we surrender."

Then it happened, weapons were thrown over the stones and men came from behind their defenses with their hands behind their backs (the universal sign of surrender in this world).

We had won but I didn’t know how.

It was explained to me later that the white cloth hanging on the edge of a town was a sign of health. The red a sign of sickness or injury.

Flags had never been used in battle before. The sight of me standing there taking the mental attack of the enemy, holding the white flag told them that we weren’t injured.  They thought we were about to destroy them. 

They had taken more injures than we realized and held up the red flags to show they were injured. Now they were willing to talk. 

When I yelled the word "surrender," it was the act that would make the red flag the universal sign of surrender forever.

Is Dialogue Dead?

I wrote this 4 years ago and it's not gotten any better.

Is Dialogue Dead?

“Dialogue is dead. Welcome to the age of a million monologues. Welcome to the day when people shout angrily at empty space rather than conversing with one another. Today is a day of hearing but not listening, when accusations are made without understanding, and when we fight against one another as we try to reach shockingly similar goals.


I am convinced that we are not as opposed to one another as we think we are, but we have lost the capacity to understand. And I lament that our ignorance appears to be increasingly willful. Rather than disagreeing, we make enemies. Rather than engaging perspectives that differ from our own, we villainize. Rather than recognizing our shortcomings, we cast our sin upon scapegoats.” Pastor Nick Highland


I wish I could say Nick is wrong but it seems that he is correct. Attacks and insults seem to be most peoples’ first response. So, what do we do as Christians? Forget that question, I have been hearing and seeing what Christians are saying and doing. Maybe I should say, “What should we do?” The answer is to live and talk like Christ. How is that? In Love.


No, it isn’t easy to walk in love. Yes, we will take abuse, but that isn’t anything new for the Christian. Jesus said we would face persecution.


Next, in a world filled with the noise of anger and hate-filled monologues, what should we focus on? I suggest we look to the Bible and what Paul said in Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.”


Finally, I suggest that we practice forgiveness. It is easy to get upset, angry. and bitter. Sports figures, politicians, reporters, bloggers, the twits on Twitter, and the Slander on Facebook, just to name a few, make it easy to lose your cool. However, Jesus told us to forgive and to love. There wasn’t an exception clause because someone was an idiot or because they were evil.


It doesn't matter if Dialogue is Dead, we are called to act one way no matter what other people do.
Think about it.

A Hospice for Sinners

I was talking to a friend about what a church is supposed to be and he threw out the line that many of us in the church have heard, “The church isn’t a museum for saints but a hospital for sinners.”

I understand that statement and mostly agree, but that is not what this post is about. This post is about something that came rolling out of my mouth that I did not expect. It was sad that Too many churches have gone from being a hospital for sinners to a hospice that gives pain medication but doesn’t treat the sin in their lives.

The comment so struck me that I wrote it down. 

My friend commented, “That will be tweeted out later today.” 

It wasn’t I thought about it for a few days before I tweeted and made a few adjustments until I tweeted out: 

“Too many churches have gone from being a hospital for sinners to a hospice that only medicates a sinner's guilt.” 

There are a lot of people out there who will criticize ministers who seem only to preach the good news and positive messages but these messages are important for us as believers. The problem arises when the culture of a church goes from helping people find Christ and begin living a transformed life to a church where sin is downplayed and transformation is actually discouraged. 

There are churches that celebrate people staying in the same state as they have always been in. There is no call for a deeper walk or for becoming more like Christ. Most people will immediately think of the churches that no longer believe in sin and accept anyone as a Christian no matter their lifestyle. However, there are churches that preach against sin, or perhaps I should say certain sins, and ignore the ones going on in their midst. The inner-city church decries the wealth and indulgence of the suburb, yet ignores the sins that are trapping people in poverty. The church in the country cries out against lazy people on welfare but tolerates gossip and selfish power plays.

These churches claim they are helping the sinners, but in truth, they are giving the people in the church the wrong medication. Their lack of looking inward causes them to feel healthy when they are actually dying. 

So what do you do?

As a pastor, my job is to allow the Spirit of God to reveal the needs of my congregation and preach to those concerns. No, not every message is or should be a chance to knock the people in line, but they should be relevant to where they live. The messages should not be directed at Washington, other churches, or the political parties. They need to be true to the people where they live.

If you're in church leadership, talk to your pastor or preaching staff and ask them. Why do they preach the way they do.

If you're just a member then pray. Don’t wait for the preacher to point out what you need to be dealing with in your life, ask God he knows exactly what is wrong in your life. You can also pray for your leadership. 

Finally, this post may seem to be pointing out at other people, and in some way it is but it is also a reminder to me and to my church to help those who are in need where we are, don’t medicate the conscious of a sinner. Bring them to the place where God can transform them.  

Space and Being in the Vine?

Keep reading vines and space will make sense.

John 15:1-4 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me."

When we look into John 15 it is easy to get caught up in the glories of remaining in Christ and what happens if we do. I don't want to diminish these promises they are great and we need to focus on them and learning what it means to live in Christ. 

However, this is my blog and I write what grabs my attention. Today, while looking over this promise again I was reminded that the first verses aren't the whole of the story. It says further on in verses 5-6, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned."

Ouch, I truly hope those who believe once in grace always in grace are right, but this doesn't sound like once you're in Christ you are always in Christ. It sounds like a warning. This isn't Christ being mean, as some might want to see it, this is Christ giving us a warning. If you want to live come with me, as it were. It is like telling someone, don't take off your helmet while in space the vacuum will kill you. It isn't said with a villainous laugh, "I'll get you my pretty..." It is Christ laying out the truth.

What I do notice is the warning isn't the end it's in the middle. This means it isn't the most important part of the message and it isn't. It's just a warning. Keep your helmet on now and enjoy this, once-in-a-lifetime experience, the view of earth from orbit (coming soon I hope).

Photo by NASA on Unsplash

God said, "Don't go to church!"

Sometimes God doesn't sound reasonable.

My grandmother, Martha Drake, told me an amazing story. She said God told her not to go to church. I am a pastor and I have heard lots of stories of why people didn’t go to church. Though some have merit most are just smoke and mirrors and I don’t know if they are trying to fool me or themselves. Personally, I don’t think I am as dumb as they think I am considering some of the stories. I have never had anyone tell me that God told them not to go to church and I believed them until grandma told me her story. 

Grandma had accepted Christ and was serving him in spite of the fact that her husband, Ralph my grandfather, was not very happy about it. Grandpa was what some might call an alcoholic but considering how he behaved I would have called him a drunk and a mean drunk at that. Grandma lost 12 children to miscarriage all of them probably due to beatings. I was glad that by the time I came along Grandpa was a different person. 

One night grandma was walking to church and felt God tell her, “Don’t go to church, Martha.” She didn’t think it was right to miss church on Sunday night when she could go so keep walking. God did not let up and a couple houses before the church she turned into her Aunt  Millie’s house and visited with her rather than go to church. Afterward, she went home feeling a little bad for not going to church. 

“Martha,” her friend Treasa told grandma later, “I am glad you weren’t in church Sunday night. Part of the way into the service, Ralph shoved open the back doors of the church. He stood there holding open the doors, cigarette hanging out of his mouth, and just stared around looking for you. You could see he was drunk and mad. When he didn’t see you he stomped out letting the doors slam behind him. I think if you had been there he would have dragged you out and beat you.”

 Grandma later wondered if perhaps God did not save her that night, not just from a beating but from losing her life. It is strange to think perhaps I might never have been born if Grandma had gone to church. 

I can do All (okay maybe not)

Strenght to WIN! (?)

 For many people their favorite if not one of their favorite verses in the Bible is Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength. The only problem is we see people who seem not to be doing it. they aren't healthy, rich, or successful. They don't reach their goals or become the best. 

So what is going on? 

the answer for some is that the people claiming this verse just don't have enough faith. I will give the people who make this claim that sometimes this is the case, however not always. There are other reasons people don't do all things.

First, we need to realize that the apostle who wrote this wasn't speaking of human success and wealth or "making it" as we would call it. Paul isn't talking about doing all I/you want to do.  

Second, when we talk about through Christ we need to realize we need to be in Christ and doing what He wants us to do. God isn't normally going to give you the strength to do your own thing when he has something else in mind for you to be doing. 

Finally, and most importantly, Paul was referring to the power to endure hardship and persecution. This verse has nearly everything to do with enduring than making it to the top in this life. Look at the verse previous and you will see Paul says "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." Paul here is speaking of enduring not getting what we want. He's talking about learning to hold on to God when things are good and when things are bad. 

I have lived long enough to say that it is those who know how to endure the good and the bad in life that we can admire.

So, God give me the strength to endure All things.

Faith for Exiles - recommended

Negative perceptions. Church dropouts. Prodigals and nomads. It's easy to get discouraged by all that's going wrong when it comes to Christianity and the emerging generation. Yet what's going right? In fact, signs of hope are springing up all around. In Faith For Exiles David Kinnaman, author of unChristian and You Lost Me teams up with Mark Matlock, former executive director of Youth Specialties to unveil major new Barna research that uncovers what's working—five practices that contribute to resilience. Enter the world of resilient young adult Christians and learn how they are sustaining faith. Finally, you can find hope in all that God is doing among young disciples today. ( from https://faithforexiles.com/)

I don't think I have ever recommended a book on this blog before, but here goes. Faith for Exiles is a good book with great information. I'm still trying to figure out how we can do some of the things they recommend in the middle of a pandemic where people are afraid (and sometimes rightly so) about getting sick or getting others sick, but that doesn't change the study. I have just finished this book today and plan to go back through it to see how we might implement some of the ideas in our future ministry. Some of the ideas have had but not been able to put it into words or proper action but I hope to change that. 

Anyway, it's worth a read.