Seth Godin had a short post on June 14. Here it is in its entirety:

I tried to recharge the lithium battery that works with my drill. After twenty minutes, the charger said the battery had failed. Fortunately, I have a second battery. I put that into the charger and it also showed a failure. Neither battery had failed. The charger had.

He called the blog “Measuring Systems,” and I suppose that’s one application. Sort of like my microwave that didn’t have an error message for when it wasn’t working.

But the real problem in both cases is the system that’s supposed to provide power either for recharging a battery or for heating food wasn’t working.

And that reminds me of some pastors who complain of dead congregations. “The people don’t respond to my preaching or to our services. They’re dead.” Maybe the people are fine but the preaching and the services are dead! (To be sure, either is a possibility.)

[Jesus said, ] “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes. (Matthew 7.24 – 29, ESV)