One event of last week that passed almost unnoticed in the U.S. as a whole was the 36th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark abortion ruling, Roe v. Wade. Incredibly, most of the population cannot personally remember that day (generally those under about 40 years of age). That historic day is history. It is …
Monthly Archives: January 2009
When You Pray….
Today concludes a week overflowing with special days (Martin Luther King Day, Inauguration Tuesday, Roe v. Wade Anniversary). Certainly, the biggest news event was the inauguration of a new president (our 44th) in the United States. Not only was the inauguration itself covered in great detail by the news media, but the details of the first …
Spiritual Formation and Missionality
[Today I am sharing a comment I recently posted on Missional Outreach Network in the Missional Spiritual Formation Group. If this is an area of interest, I invite you to visit the Missional Outreach Network and join the conversation.] The spiritual body of Christ (in my observation) spends a lot of time in basic bodily …
church, Church, big C, little c, who are we?
I see an increasing number of articles that are asking important and hard questions about our self-understandings and self-identity as Christians. Answering these questions is essential in the task of being the missional, evangelistic body God intends. I am pleased that we as a brotherhood are thinking again about what we mean when we use …
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Shine in 2009
[Today I am sharing my bulletin article for this week.] In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus’ first recorded discourse, Matthew’s Gospel records these words of Jesus, “You are the light of the world” (Matt. 5:11-16). Our congregational theme for the last several years has reflected this idea. Although Jesus is the light of the …
Sticktuitiveness
I am preaching today on Paul’s advice for enduring, “Secrets of Endurance”, as I continue a series in 2 Corinthians. What are the keys to perseverance? What will help us endure for the long haul? How can we keep on keeping on, in the face of adversity? Here is one version of what Paul says. Look …
Making Ministry Attractive
I spent some time recently with a brother in Christ whom I had not seen for several years. In recent years, he has moved from ministry to academics, taking a path roughly parallel to my own experience over the past 15 years as I have alternated between the world of ministry and the world of …
A Building for God
The Old Testament prophet, Haggai, urged the people to get about the task of rebuilding the temple with these words: “Give careful thought to your ways! You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but you never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put …
“Do Overs”
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Cor 5:17). Call them what you want–second chances, mulligans, do-overs–they all provide a fresh start. I am convinced that one of the reasons we humans make so much of the beginning of the new year …
Join the Sacred Game
An end of the year article by Phyllis Tickle (Emergent Village) urged readers to “join the sacred game.” Tickle was asking for reader feedback, but the phrase gave me pause. Authors have described the Christian life of interaction with God, other Christians, and the larger world in various ways, but I like this picture: join …