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Antisemitism
It has been a grueling week since the horrifying attacks by Hamas on Israel. The issues are deep and complicated… to a point. There are some things that are crystal clear and any insistence on trying to muddy those points is driven by pure hatred. What gets lost in the place where Israel and Hamas are currently is the people.…
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I have identified the anti-christ!
I am on a fascinating journey right now that I need to stay at. (Which would be a first for me.) A few years ago I wrote a lot of notes for a would be book I would call, Living in Babylon. I still have that stack. It’s impressive. At least looking at it impresses me. This current one is…
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Reflecting on Philip the Deacon and my own ordination
This month will be three years I have been ordained as a vocational deacon in the Anglican Church. I am grateful to reflect on that calling this time of year, especially with the Feast of Philip the Deacon and Evangelist being in the same month.
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Prayers for the world
Upheaval in the Ukraine. Upheaval in Israel. The deep complications. I am deeply thankful for prayer, and for the prayers of the Church! A collect for the world from the Book of Common Prayer 2019: Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: So mightily…
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The reality of heaven
NT Wright’s writing on heaven is one of the fundamental turns in my own theological journey. The reality of heaven and God’s reign exploded in my life because I had grown up in a “rapture ready” type of mentality.
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Glory
I grew up Pentecostal. I still am Pentecostal. I may go to an Anglican Church and serve as an ordained deacon, but that doesn’t drive away anything of the Spirit. Finding a way to make those things stay viable and fresh and renewed does prove to be a challenge at times. But there are moments. And here I simply just…
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We need to move past our easy labels
Esau McCaulley’s memoir, How Far to the Promised Land? dives into his family history, specifically spurred on by his father. What McCaulley shows in the book is it’s easy to put labels on people and events to simplify how we see people.
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The call to discipleship
I am working my way through Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s book, Discipleship, and I am challenged once again by the simplicity of the call to Jesus. Discipleship is commitment to Christ. Not the idea of Christ. Not the doctrine of Christ. Christ himself. Christianity without the living Jesus Christ remains necessarily a Christianity without discipleship; and a Christianity without discipleship is always…
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The CCM Mixtape experiment
“Christian Contemporary Music.” When I was growing up in a very fundamentalist church, it was the hot controversy. Amy Grant was good, until she wasn’t. Michael W Smith was fine, until he liked Amy Grant too much. So, I don’t have a long history with songs I remember. I want to do a MIX TAPE experiment with you. Put on…
