General Scaparrotti Takes NATO Command

Mike Scaparrotti, who grew up in Saint Matthew Lutheran Church in Logan, Ohio, where I pastored for six years, is a great leader and a fine man.

Saint Matthew, Logan, and the Scaparrotti family are justly proud of him!

Despite misinformed talk from the campaign trail this year, NATO and other similar alliances and arrangements remain important not just or even primarily for others' security, but for the security of the people of the United States. General Scaparrotti is a wonderful choice for this command.

Please keep him in your prayers, asking God to give him wisdom and safety. Please also pray for his wife Cindy, who is a great person in her own right.



[Blogger Mark Daniels is the pastor of Living Water Lutheran Church, Centerville, Ohio.]

The Shamrock West Hummingbird Bar and Grill is Now Open for 2016 Business

The new feeder is a top-fill, which I really like.

Don't know if there have been any patrons yet.

"Mike" Scaparrotti, a Great Nomination by President Obama

President Obama has made a great decision in nominating General Curtis "Mike" Scaparrotti to serve as NATO commander.

General Scaparrotti is a son of Logan, Ohio and of St. Matthew Lutheran Church there, where I served as pastor for six years.

He is a great man of integrity, the kind of leader who never asks those he leads to do things he doesn't. He's smart, wise, and humble.

This is a great appointment.

'Only a Ride' by Steve Taylor

This was the opening song of Steve Taylor's concert in Columbus on May 1. I was able to enjoy seeing my favorite Christian artist for the first time ever with great friends from Logan on that night! I'm thankful that someone caught his performance on video. The song is on Taylor's newest LP.

Snow in the Church Garden II

You can hear my wife washing a pot in the kitchen and the wood floor creaking beneath my feet as I shift around.

A beautiful sight...wonderful if you don't have to drive in it!

Snow in the Church Garden

Like much of our region, we got snow overnight here in southeastern Ohio. This was taken from our house, looking onto the church garden.

[You can click on the image to enlarge it.]

Logan Christmas Lights II

Logan Christmas Lights I

Taken tonight.

Ready for Winter

I snapped this picture while taking a walk this afternoon. The tree here is dubbed, The Great White Oak of Logan. It's huge. (At least by the standards of southern Ohio. It's obviously no Redwood!)

After the windstorm this past July, which knocked out our power for the better part of eight days, my wife and I were concerned that the oak, said to be over 600 years old, might have been damaged. The branches of a large tree in a neighboring yard, like thousands of other trees and branches throughout Ohio, did come down during the storm. In some places around the state, the wind during that short storm measured 98-miles per hour. Fallen trees and branches brought power outages throughout the state.

But this old oak seems to have been unscathed.

Leaves fallen, it's now ready for another winter in the seventh-century of its life. It's hard to imagine all that has unfolded under its branches.

[Also see here, for a 360-degree look from beneath the tree. It gives you a good idea of its height. FYI: Logan is about a half-hour drive from Athens.]

Audio of 'Read the New Testament in a Year' Discussion (John 19 to 21)

The people of Saint Matthew Lutheran Church in Logan, Ohio are reading the New Testament together in a year's time. On Wednesdays, participants who are interested gather for weekly discussion groups at either 11AM or 7PM. This is audio of this past Wednesday evening's discussion (July 25). We discussed John, chapters 19 through 21, an account of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection.

A source from which I read here is Craig Keener's outstanding reference book, The IVP Background Commentary: New Testament.

During the discussion of John 21:11, I mentioned that my seminary professor, the late Pastor Bruce Schein, said that the 153 fish of the miraculous catch was "the perfect catch." I couldn't then remember why Schein had said this. But this is what he says in in his wonderful book, Following the Way: The Setting of John's Gospel:

"There are 153 fish in the net, a perfect catch fishermen would say--a third always goes to the boat, a third to fishermen, and a third to the provider of nets."

We Have Power

A few hours shy of six full days since the power outage began for us, power was restored to our home. At the time, we were with friends in Cincinnati celebrating the Fourth of July. There are still people here in our community and in other places without power and I'm keeping them in my prayers tonight. I'm also saying prayers of thanks for the utility workers who are working 16-hour shifts to restore power to a huge area that, just one week ago, was hit with hurricane-force winds.

Of the southern Ohio communities through which we traveled today, Wellston seemed to have been particularly hard-hit. Utility poles were pulled out by the winds and a portion of the downtown area was closed to traffic.

Keep all those hit by last week's storm in your prayers.

Please also pray for the Ohio farmers and farmers in other states facing this summer's drought.

The Church: A Fellowship of Recovering Sinners

Church isn't a place for the perfect, but a fellowship for recovering sinners.

After I posted that on Facebook earlier today, a high school classmate wrote to ask, "Mark do we ever really 'recover' from sinfulness?"

If by "recover," it was meant to "get over," the answer is no. Just as with any addiction, we never fully get over the common human condition of sin this side of the grave. We depend on God's grace and the power of the Holy Spirit to help us resist temptation and to enable us do better when we "fall off the... wagon" and any sin, from taking God's Name in vain to engaging in sexual intimacy outside of marriage, from gossip to thievery. 

Just as an alcoholic who has given up drink is still only a recovering alcoholic no matter how many years it's been since their last drink, Christians are nothing more than recovering sinners. 

But, thank God for the process of recovery--what the Biblical theology calls "sanctification"--that happens for all who repent and believe in Jesus Christ.

That's why Christians, mindful that we are sinners saved only by the grace of God given through Jesus Christ, should never look down their noses on unrepentant sinners. Instead, we should befriend them, tell them God's truth in love, pray for them, and ask them, one sinner to another, to "come and see" what it's like to be set free from sin's power, to live today as recovering sinners, and to look to an eternal future when we will live the sinless lives for which God first made us. 


The Church exists as the fellowship within which we hear God's Word and receive the sacraments of Holy Baptism and Holy Communion, confess our sins, receive forgiveness through Christ, and learn together to follow Jesus in our everyday lives. While Christians boldly confess, as Jesus Himself has taught, that Jesus is the only way to a relationship with God, arrogance is inconsistent with being a Christian. As Paul puts it in the New Testament: "If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness...", that is, my complete dependence on Jesus Christ.


So, if you're looking for a church home, find one where neither pastor nor people think they're "all that," but who freely acknowledge their imperfections. It's in the fellowship of other "recovering sinners" that you can really experience what it is to be set free from the power of sin.

Church isn't a place for the perfect, but a fellowship for recovering sinners. Want to be a part of that?

[If you live in or near Logan or Hocking County, Ohio, you're invited to "come and see" how Jesus is living in our congregation, Saint Matthew Lutheran Church. Sunday School for all ages--and we have a great adult Sunday School class--meets at 9:15AM each Sunday. Worship happens at 10:15AM. If you currently have no church home, we would love to welcome you!]

It's Fall in the Beautiful Hocking Hills

People come from far and wide to spend time in the Hocking Hills here in Ohio during the autumn months. You can see why in this video I took tonight when my wife and I walked the track at the Hocking County Fairgrounds here in Logan. The leaf colors were gorgeous on perfectly clear night.

Audio of Today's 'Read the Bible in a Year Discussion (Psalms 111-145)

Here's today's discussion of the week's Bible readings. Tonight's discussion will be recorded too. If there's anything stunningly different from this morning's discussion, I'll post it here.



Read the Bible in a Year

Saint Matthew Lutheran Church in Logan, Ohio

The Kindness Outreach Chronicles (Part 5)

This morning's Saint Matthew Kindness Outreach was a fantastic experience!

Ten Saint Matt folks participated as we once again gave away cold bottled water at a heavily-trafficked intersection here in Logan. While the traffic lights were red, we were able to give away 210 bottles of water in under an hour. That means that in the four outreaches we've done so far, we've given away 770 bottles of water.

Some vignettes that stand out from today...

• As Dick gave water to one woman, she told him about her seven-day old niece who had suffered a stroke. Doctors had given her little chance. But the little one has shown improvements which the doctors say they can't explain. The family feels they can explain, that God is answering their prayers in inexplicable ways. By this time, I was involved in the discussion and Dick and I promised to pray for the child. She drove off saying, "I love you guys!" When the light turned green, Dick, Isaac, and I formed a circle and prayed for the baby and her family.
• Isaac offered water to two fellows in a pick-up truck. They refused the offer. But Isaac didn't give up. "Come on," he said, "it's free!" The driver held up a cup indicating that he already had something to drink. Undeterred, Isaac asked, "What about your friend?" The power window on the passenger side slid down. Isaac handed a water to the guy riding shotgun and then handed in another water, this one for the driver. "You have one too," he said.
• A woman in one car was incredulous. "Free? I can't believe it!" Dick handed her a bottle of water and said, "Well, believe this!"
• A young man in his twenties was going to refuse my offered water. But I said, "Hey, look it's wet, it's cold, and it's free." "Free?" he asked, then laughed, and said, "I'll take it." We both laughed when I told him, "Free is the operative word."

Of course, we do these outreaches to demonstrate what God's grace is like. God loves us, no strings attached. He simply asks us to repent (acknowledge our need for Him and His forgiveness) and believe (that is, trust) in Christ.

In doing the Kindness Outreaches, we also negate an old stereotype that says that all churches want is people's money.

But the outreaches have a great impact on those of us privileged to serve our neighbors in Jesus' Name in this way, too.

• During today's outreach, young Isaac turned to me and, running back to a cooler to restock on water for the next wave of cars, said to me, "This is a joy!"
• And Fran said that she'd had the feeling this morning that we might have too many Saint Matt folks and wondered if she should participate, but then thought to herself, "I don't care. It's too much fun!"

And it is! In fact, the secret we Lutheran Christians have been keeping from ourselves for far too long is that reaching out to our neighbors with the love of Christ is fun. And this summer, the Lutherans at Saint Matthew are having a blast being Jesus' hands and feet in Logan through these Kindness Outreaches!

The Kindness Outreach Chronicles (Part 4)

Once again this morning, members of Saint Matthew hit the streets to give away bottles of cold water to motorists stopped at red lights. We handed out 140 bottles of water in about 40 minutes. (Last night, I simply happened to ice down seventy fewer bottles than I had for the first two outreaches.)*

As always, this outreach was a lot of fun!

Nine Saint Matthew folks participated and each seemed to have stories to tell this morning.

Sarah G. told about approaching a truck. The man driving it held up a can and said, "I'm good. I've got a Sprite." Sarah noticed that he had two dogs with him and asked, "But do your dogs need water?" The man accepted waters for them. Sarah added, "Now take one for yourself, too." He did.

"Will you accept a donation?" a woman asked after she and her passenger had been given waters. "No," was the emphatic answer, followed by an enthusiastic, "Thank you."

It is hard for people to believe that they're getting something for nothing. That's why kindness outreaches present great pictures of God's grace, a love we can't earn and don't deserve. Paul wrote: "God proves His love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

Pass it on!

*So far, we've had three Saturday morning outreaches, scrubbing last week's because of a heat emergency. We've given out 560 bottles of water in that time. (Or, as we like to put it, we've perpetrated 560 acts of kindness in Jesus' Name.)

Garden and Rainbow

Two videos taken about an hour ago here in Logan.

The Kindness Outreach Chronicles (Part 3)

These are pictures snapped by my wife Ann during the Saint Matthew Kindness Outreach of July 9. During the outreaches, when traffic lights at busy intersections turn read, we offer free bottled water to drivers and passengers of stopped vehicles. We share the love of God, no strings attached.

In a world in which we're taught "there's no such thing as a free lunch," it can be hard to convince people that we're actually giving away anything without charge. But these give-aways are a great picture of how grace works. Grace, God's undeserved favor, isn't earned. But God won't force it on you either. You have to be humble and needy enough to willingly receive it.

In the picture above, Dick and Joy hand out bottles of water and Jacob hurries to make sure that everyone in the car gets their free gifts.

Above: Jacob shares another bottle of water.

Above: The preacher in action.

A Logan Picture

Snapped this picture of Saint John Roman Catholic Church here in Logan, Ohio, while taking a walk several nights ago.

We Don't Drive to Our Accidents

Here in Logan and Hocking County, Ohio, we avoided the major "shellacking" of the big winter storm that hit this state and the whole Midwest yesterday. We had icy rain and we experienced high winds, but roads were passable and we got no snow.

But at the Daniels household, we did wake up this morning to a surprise left by the extreme weather. We discovered that a branch broke off from a tree in front of the parsonage in which we live. It crashed into the windshield of our 1997 Ford Escort station wagon, a vehicle affectionately known as the Nanny Mobile.

Fortunately, a new windshield can be installed tomorrow.

But our vehicles haven't fared well when parked curbside since we moved here three-plus years ago.

Shortly after our arrival, a mirror was clipped from our van.

About a year later, our two vehicles were hit by a car that careened into them, totaling all three of them.

After that, we parked one of the replacement cars we purchased in our garage. But there's really only room for one vehicle there.

The local police department, because of what happened to out two totals (on Halloween night, I might add), has allowed us to pull our car over the curb, leaving it to straddle sidewalk and street. But no amount of straddling could have avoided that branch, weighed down by ice, last night.

It could have been worse. That it wasn't is reason for us to be thankful.

What's interesting, of course, is that all of this has happened to our cars when they were stationery and there were no drivers or passengers inside.

We don't drive to our accidents. They come to us.