The what of thanksgiving — at least recognizes two sides of the coin. If giving thanks is a single act, it is aware of two sides or aspects. There is the “What do I have?” side, and then there is the “Who made that possible?” side. The entire scope of my life includes all that I really do have, but I also need to see that I have not earned, produced, created, or otherwise achieved it. It’s a tension of what I have vs. what do I deserve? And at what cost has God given me all that I have been given?...
What is calmly stated belies a horrifying reality. While the speaker in a mob movie really was referring to plans for killing people, “the business” will leave unseen and unmentioned weeping parents, grieving spouses and orphaned children. And blood that cries out from the ground to the LORD, our God....
Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD their God. He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—he remains faithful forever.” Psalm 146:3-6 ...
How much does presence matter? One way we can measure this is by how much you’ve been affected by someone’s absence. The biblical term “holy” means incomparable or irreplaceable....
In this morning's Community Bible reading from Mark 13, it struck me how, ahead of facing persecution and even the threat of death, Jesus urged His disciples to "not be anxious beforehand." Some modern ears could hear in this that Jesus was being tone-deaf and insensitive to His friends' pain or anxieties....
Starting back in the late 90s, we got to start an amazing trend of sending a ministry candidate to graduate school (called seminary, not to be confused with a cemetery). Elliot Grudem was the first candidate that we commissioned, who eventually went on to be ordained and become a church planter. Elliot is still in ministry in Raleigh, NC, and helps to now train young pastors and church planters....
Someone can be so laser-focused on a goal or an idea that all they can see is how far short of their desire their current experience is. “That would be great, but this is so far short of that …” This plays out in restaurants every day, at work, at school, and surely in most homes....
Following that, and a week of interactions here with various leaders, officers, volunteers and staff members, our elders have voted to propose a call for Tony to join our team here and be our new shepherding pastor....
In a congregational church (like a Baptist or non-denominational church), the congregation can simply vote. It can be a 51-49 vote even, and if it’s favorable, then that church has a new pastor. In a church with bishops (whether it’s Catholic, Episcopal, or Methodist), the archbishop can simply assign a pastor to a congregation and then that church has a new pastor — whether they like it or not....
En route to Strasbourg, John Calvin and his companions had their trip interrupted because of a war. This meant stopping for a night—just a single night—in Geneva. That evening, word got to William Farel that the famed writer of the Institutes of the Christian Religion was staying in town. Farel was the first reformer of Geneva and a pioneer who fought to have the city become officially Protestant in May of the prior year (1536). But now, a year in, the ministry was exploding with new believers. He needed help, and to Farel, Calvin’s mix of gifts seemed just what they needed....
If you ever played hide-and-seek, did you ever really love being the one who was doing the seeking? I hated it. First, it meant that I had been caught first in the prior round when I had been hiding (so it felt like I had failed). Second, I always had a sinking feeling of dread, wondering inwardly, “What if I can’t find anyone?”...
Keep Reading Think about how you are the same, no matter what your age, as the day you were born. Just as an acorn grows from being a large nut to a sprig to a 200-year-old mammoth of a tree, you have gone from being an embryo to a fetus to a newborn baby to a toddler to whatever you are today....
Keep Reading The right tool fits the job. You wouldn’t try to drive in a nail with a tape measure. Even if you tried to do that, failed, and then complained, “This tape measure is no good!”...
Keep Reading If you’re reading this, my guess is that you are not a kid. So, I also suspect you understand basic anatomy and sexuality. ...
Keep Reading We asked, and you answered — thank you! Last month, our leaders asked me to communicate to you that we were behind on giving for 2023, and your response has been encouraging....
Keep Reading For many of you, you may not even know what a sabbatical is. Traditionally, it derived from the world of university professors who were granted a period of paid leave for study or travel. ...
Keep Reading Over the last few years, we’ve weathered COVID-19, profound social and political tensions, and behind it all, there has been a steady shift in what sexuality even is — let alone what is now considered sexually appropriate....
Keep Reading If you dig at the very essence of what’s regarded as heroic, you will surely see elements of courage, risk, generosity and a willingness to readily sacrifice even one’s own life in the protection or rescue of others. ...
Keep Reading It works like this: whatever you’re thinking about or arguing about, someone reduces the options to only two. “Either it’s _______ OR it’s ________.” And admittedly, there are many instances where the discussion really can be reduced to only one of two options — like pregnancy, citizenship, or having a pulse. Either you are or are not; you do or do not....
Keep Reading Jesus said: “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matthew 12:36-37) Chilling and sobering words. So accordingly, how do you view words? And how do you use them?...
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