Clark's Compelling Catwalk

I had the privilege of sitting down with Dr. Deborah Curtis, the president of Indiana State University, to talk about the effects of the pandemic on their institution.  Universities are complex systems with lots of people and lots of moving parts.  It was interesting to hear how they have been experiencing this crisis.  I invite you to listen.

Daniel 1 takes place around 586 BC when King Nebuchadnezzar came in and wiped out Jerusalem and carried off most of the people in exile.  They were forced to live in Babylon.  Daniel and his friends were chosen for a leadership development program in Babylon.  They had an opportunity to become some of the top 1% of that culture.  But, Daniel took a big risk when he turned down...

Today is Memorial Day.  It is a day we remember people who have died serving our country.  We don't know their names ow who they were, but they are important, and we benefit because of what they did.  Colossians 4 is that kind of chapter.  Paul mentions 9 different people in the early church whom we don't know, but we benefit today because of what they did.  Most of the pe...

This is the message for May 24, 2020.  This is a message, based on the life of Harriet Tubman, and a variety of verses from the Biblical story, that help us understand what we need to know, as we seek to have a missionary encounter with our own culture.  Our own culture is a mission field.  It is a hard mission field.  God has not called us to do easy work.  God has called...

Colossians 3 is about making a choice of what kind of clothes you are going to wear.  Paul describes the nature of our old sinful desires as being like the old clothes we used to wear.  He gives us a list of sins that were part of our old nature and he tells us to strip off the old nature.  He tells us to put on the new nature, and describes the quality of the new clothes Christ wan...

Colossians 2 is about gaining the strength to face adversity.  Our strength comes from two sources - think, substantial relationships with other people, and putting our roots down deep into Christ.  He wants us to grow deep and wide.  This enables us to face the adversity of our day.  In this chapter, the adversity is empty philosophy and high-sounding nonsense and legalism. &n...

Colossians 1 talks about the incomparable Christ.  No one has ever lived who has been like Christ.  He is supreme.  He is dominant.  He is without rival and without equal.  Everything that has been created was created through Him.  He is the image of the invisible God.  Christ is the one Who is holding all of creation together.  He has reconciled us to God....

Philippians 4 has two well-known parts to it.  Verses 6-7 tell us not to be anxious about anything, but through prayer, petition, and thanksgiving, present our requests to God, and the peace of God which passes all understanding, will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. And then in v.11-13, Paul says he has learned the secret of being content - whether he is in plenty or in want,...

In Philippians 3, Paul is reflecting on his past and contemplating his future.  In looking back, he says that all he had gained in the past he considers to be loss.  He calls is garbage or rubbish.  Now, that he knows Christ, his values have changed, his priorities have changed, and he is focused on different and better things.  As he looks to the future, he describes it as a t...

On Friday, May 15, 2020, I sat down with Richard Payonk.  Richard is the Executive Director of the United Way of the Wabash Valley.  We talked about what the United Way was doing before the pandemic hit and what has changed for them after it hit.  We talked about how they are working to have a positive impact on our community, and what they are hearing and seeing and learning.

Philippians 2 is about the mindset of Christ.  This is a very famous passage that talks about how Christ came to earth from heaven, not considering equality with God a thing to be grasped.  He humbled Himself, sacrificed what He had, and became obedient.  Therefore, God exalted Him to the highest place, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue confess that Je...

If you are new to the Church, you may not have a good idea of what the Church really is.  If you have been in the Church for a long time, you may have gotten fuzzy on why the Church exists.  But, any Church that wants to come through this pandemic in a healthy way, needs a strong sens of identity and purpose.  If we don't really understand who we are and what we are supposed to be d...

Philippians 1 has 3 key verses.  V.1 says He Who began a good work in you will bring to completion on the day of Christ Jesus.  V. 21 says for me to live is Christ and to die is gain.  And V.29-30 says that you have been given the privilege of not only trusting in Christ, but also suffering for Him.  We are in this struggle together.

Lamentations 5 is the last chapter in the book.  Jeremiah ends with a final lament for his people and his culture and the sorry state they are in.  But, he closes with a prayer of trust and restoration.  He says that God remains the same and prays that He will restore their joy.  God is our rock.  He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.  He brings stability int...

Lamentations 4 is a chapter where people are lamenting the state of their country.  They are grieving what they have lost.  They are not what they used to be.  This was caused in part by a leadership problem.  But, then they turn to the wrong people and the wrong places to fix their problem.  We are in a similar spot today.  Many people are lamenting the loss of the g...

Lamentations 3 is a chapter about moving from grief to hope.  The first 20 verses are about grief and sadness and the darkness the writer feels has come over his life.  But the chapter turns at v.21, where he dares to hope, based on the character of God.  The character of God is not based on our circumstances.  So, no matter what our world looks like, there is always hope. &nbs...

The theme of Lamentations 2 is the anger of God.  There were a lot of things going on at that time that made God angry.  I think there are a lot of things going on in our world today that would make God angry.  That's not surprising.  The rest of the chapter gives us 3 responses to God.  1)Cry.  Crying is a good, healthy, appropriate response.  2)The inappropriat...

On Friday, May 8th, I had the privilege of sitting down with  County Commissioner Brendan Kearns to talk about what is going on around our county with the corona virus pandemic.  We had a great conversation and it was so interesting to hear about how he and our county are experiencing the crisis and how people are coping and responding to it.  I invite you to listen in as we share o...

Today we begin the Old Testament book of Lamentations.  We often skip over this book and don't read it because it is a book about grief and loss.  But, it is strangely very relevant to what we are going through today.  It talks about how the streets are empty.  No one is coming to their festivals any more.  People are mourning the loss of the good old days.  It shows...

When we look back through history, its easy to see times when the Church has lost its way.  We can see the Church in Nazi Germany and the Church in apartheid South Africa as obvious examples.  But, some of the same attitudes that were present in those instances can be found in the Church in North America today, and not all Christians can see it.  What can we do?  How can the Ch...

Joel chapter 3 ends this short book by continuing on with the theme of the Day of the Lord.  There is a scary side to it and a good side to it.  The scary side is that God will finally step in to correct all the wrongs of our world.  He will fix what needs to be fixed.  The judgment that is needed will take place and it will be fair and appropriate and just.  The sun and t...

In Joel 2, the prophet talks about hope in the midst of despair.  As the Israelites are dealing with the terrible plague that is upon them, Joel says the great and terrible Day of the Lord is upon them.  The people wonder - who can survive?  We have people today who wonder if we will survive our plague.  Joel tells them to return to the Lord and reminds them of the compassionat...

Joel 1 is written to people who are going through a plague.  We are going through the corona virus plague today.  They were going through a plague locusts.  The plague had devastated their economy, disrupted their nation, and ruined their lives.  People were weeping and crying and in despair.  Plagues show us that we are not in control.  We do not have the power to pr...

On Monday, May 4th, 2020, I had the opportunity to sit down with Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce President Kristin Craig to talk about the corona virus pandemic we are going through.  It was wonderful to have a chance to connect with her again and listen to the things that she has been hearing from people, what she sees going on in our community, and how we can come through this crisis. &nbsp...

2 Peter 3 talks about how scoffers and time affect your life.  Peter is writing to people who are having to deal with some people who scoff at the truth.  We have people in our world today who won't believe the truth, who believe lies, and try to pass it off as the truth.  They are upsetting the Christians asking how come Christ hasn't come back yet.  Don't let them upset your...