The gospel in seven words
As part of the discussions at the pastoral care team meetings at the church I pastor, we often talk about what the journey of faith is like. How can we walk with people? What does it mean to evangelize? What is faith really about? How would we even describe this good news (gospel) message of…
Award-winning Herald Press book gets an update
In Donald B. Kraybill’s The Upside-Down Kingdom, Jesus is slightly irreverent. He critiques the rich, scorches nationalism, redefines Old Testament law, and undercuts the authority of religious leaders. Kraybill points out that Jesus is into sharing, not hoarding. Service, not status. Community, not competition. Basins, not swords. Loyalty to God, not nation. Kraybill, a prolific…
A big fan of Jesus . . . the church not so much
A lot has been said and written about millennials: What’s wrong with them? What’s influenced them? What does their future hold? Google “millennials and the church” and dozens of articles pop up: “5 things millennials wish the church would be,” “12 reasons why millennials are over church,” or “Is Christianity dark enough for millennials?” So…
Jesus the refugee
Last year I wrote about Advent as a time of pregnant waiting, and of the way that Mary exemplifies mothering as the embodied practice of hospitality, fulfilling the biblical call to welcome the stranger (Lev. 19:33-34, Matt. 25, etc.) You can read “Making space for the stranger” here. Today, I’m reflecting on Jesus as a…
This Easter. . .
This Easter is going to be different. I probably sound hypocritical stating how uncomfortable I am talking about death in one post and then writing about that very topic in another post. I didn’t plan on talking about it anymore, but lately, it’s all we’ve been talking about. On Sunday, Boo came out of her…
The mockery of careful planning
I have always been a little uneasy with Jesus’ parable of ‘planning’ (Luke 14:28-31). Jesus asks whether the people would not plan ahead of time to make sure they had sufficient materials to complete a tower and sufficient soldiers for victory in war. The ‘moral of the story’ as I have received it is that…
