I recently attended a Christian music concert that left me with some thoughts: There is something super-powerful about a corporate gathering of people singing about a shared set of beliefs and values. I’m not a huge fan of large concerts…my preference would almost always be acoustic music in a much… Continue reading
Reading Exodus 30-32 is interesting. Specifically the contrast between Ex. 30-31 and Ex. 32 is intriguing. Ex. 30-31 (and maybe the chapter/s before) are all about setting apart STUFF and PEOPLE as holy and consecrated. The stuff the priests wore was consecrated and holy. The oil used for anointing was… Continue reading
“But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.” Then he lay down under the… Continue reading
My Lent devotional this year has been A Way Other than Our Own, by Walter Bruegemann. There are several quotes throughout the book worth pondering, but here’s what he says about Maundy Thursday that has me thinking today: “The drama of the towel provided an example for the disciples to replicate:… Continue reading
A few weeks ago I listened to a Robcast about the “lie of redemptive violence.” In this podcast, Rob Bell explains how this idea of redemptive violence–that violence in retaliation for wrong-doing can be justified–is deep in our society…and even in our theology. But it’s really a myth, and he goes… Continue reading
My congregation is doing a 6-week sermon/study series based on the book by John Ortberg, If you Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat. I’ve been familiar with this book for quite some time, but I don’t think I’ve read it. The book is based… Continue reading
I was in the States for 8th grade, and near the end of the year was getting ready to go on a summer mission trip to Mexico with a friend’s youth group. One day as we were getting ready for P.E. and reflecting on the orientation meeting we’d been to… Continue reading
Ponder the difference: A ‘to-do’ list is full of the un-achieved goals. The stuff not yet tended to. The myriad of piles still unsorted. A ‘To-do’ list is meant to be motivating…to show you how much further you still have, and how close you are to the finish line. A… Continue reading
I recently began reading the book “When Helping Hurts,” by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert. I’ve heard about this book in the context of reflecting on attitudes and methods used in “Christian Outreach” that are…less than helpful. I’m reading it to increase my capacity to engage a conversation about the… Continue reading
I have found that often when I am preparing a sermon, I end up convicted by the very thoughts I am forming into a sermon. I was not expecting to preach on Christmas Eve, but at the last minute I was given the notes of a sermon the pastor was… Continue reading