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The Liturgy of Abundance
I ran across this article by Walter Brueggemann, one of my favorite Old Testament scholars. I love this quote: The profane is the opposite of the sacramental. “Profane” means flat, empty, one-dimensional, exhausted. The market ideology wants us to believe that the world is profane–life consists of buying and selling, weighing, measuring and trading, and then finally sinking down into…
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Happy Father’s Day
I find nothing that brings greater joy in my life than being a husband and father. I have a tremendous father who is a man of faith. He is an incredible example to my boys and has been my hero. My wife’s dad and step-dad are great examples to my boys. And I wish them all a Happy Father’s Day.…
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Full Blown, Driving Passion
I am meditating on passion. Dreaming dreams. Asking God for the impossible. The questions I am asking are these: — Where is the place where I find the heart of God? — What motivates me in life? What truly stirs my heart and I find myself sensing the true pleasure of God in it? — Where to my gifts meet…
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God’s Best is Not Always What We Have in Mind
3 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, 5 not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; 6 and that in this matter no one should wrong or…
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Immigration
It is the year of politics, but let’s face it… It’s always the year of politics. So, President Obama’s move to stop deportation on a certain segment of the population can be perceived in so many ways. Sure, we can call it pure politics. I would also say that inaction by politicians on Capitol Hill should be labeled the same…
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Journal the Journey
Tip for our journey through the New Testament: have a pencil and notebook handy. Or, have your digital notebook ready. Always be ready to jot down thoughts. Ask questions. Write them down. You can always come back to those notes. Jot down your thoughts for the journey!
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Tomorrow is Flag Day
As Yakov Smirnoff would say, “I LOOOVVVEE this country!” So, please, understand what I am saying. We have a civic calendar and often we substitute it for the church calendar, especially in the American church. Tomorrow is Flag Day, and I salute what this country does and means. I love living here. But, here are my flags and where I…
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Ground Shifts
As we move through our journey in the New Testament, we are reading the Book of Acts this week. Acts 10 is always a significant place for me. Several years ago the Lord exploded this text into my life as I asked about ground shaking experiences I needed to understand in our own setting. As you move through the Book…
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Am I Immersed in the Mission?
“Our mission is to make disciples of Jesus, immersing them in the trinitarian LIFE in the Kingdom of God, teaching them to do what Jesus said.” — Dallas Willard
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The Double-Edge of the Good News
Reading through Acts this week as a church, I am still struck by the boldness of proclamation. Filled with the power of the Spirit, these are people who are unafraid. They don’t have the luxury of public proclamation as we do today. They had to risk. Even knowing their proclamation could land them in trouble, they proclaimed good news anyway.…
