Most people know about St. Francis of Assisi, the man who started the Franciscans and devoted himself to a life of poverty to rebuild the church, and many people know about St. Clare of Assisi, who followed his example and founded the her own monastic community based on Francis’ own. However not too many people talk about Agnes of Assisi. This week the Church remembers Agnes, who followed her sister into the monastic life. After loosing two daughters to this... Read more

   An Apostolic Arrangement One of the things I have found amazing about Jesus’ ministry is the calling of the 12 disciples. If Jesus was God then why would he need a group of guys to help him do his ministry. One would think Jesus could do it on His own. The fact that Jesus didn’t just do it on his own reveals one of the most amazing things about the way God initiates his mission in the world today.... Read more

For those of us who follow the Sunday lectionary cycle Year C is quickly coming to a close. Year C is a time where the church has paid a special attention to the evangelist Luke. When Advent begins on November 28th the lectionary will move on to Year A and to a focus on Matthew. Before we move on though, I thought it might be a good idea to look at one of the major themes that have been highlighted by this... Read more

I thought I would let you know that there is a new CD out that features some of the live worship I led in Bush Alaska over the summer. It also features my friends Tom Mute, and Phil Cannon . Check out the CD: Read more

Today the church in the west celebrates the life of an incredible man, Martin of Tours. Born into an era where Christianity was recently legalized, he converted to Christianity against the wishes of his parents at the age of ten. As a teen he was required to join the calvary in the Roman empire. As a soldier in the military he once came across a naked beggar, and cut his coat in half, giving the begar the other half of... Read more

The Open Secret by Lesslie Newbign (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1995) is quite possible the best book on the theology of mission I have ever read. I have always been impressed with Newbigin since being introduced to him through his seminal work The Gospel in a Pluralistic Society. Newbign was a Scottish missionary and Bishop in India, a lecturer and author on culture and missiology, and an active proponent of the ecumenical movement. I can’t recommend highly enough his voice in... Read more

Today’s post comes from Sumit Sen, a pastor in the Evangelical Covenant Church. I think this article brings up a lot of great points and would love to hear your thoughts on it. When one reads Mark 11:12-17 it may seem that the Lord Jesus woke up on the wrong side of the bed. He curses a fig tree when Mark clearly says in verse thirteen that it was not the season for the tree to bear figs, and then He... Read more

I ran into this quote by Saint Theophan a few weeks ago,I liked it quite a bit so I reformatted it a bit. let me know what you think. There are thoughts, desires and passions that come in the form of ambushes and short-lived upsets,  and there are constant ones that go on for days, months and years.  The first are easy, but should not be disdained. However, we must watch out not only for them but for their order. The... Read more

Here in Chicago James Chukwuma Okoye has been teaching at Catholic Theological Union since the late 1990s. James has been looking deeply at how the Scriptures interact with culture in every way we see the world. One thing I have been really impressed with was his paper that discusses how to make the Eucharist truly african in it’s liturgy. Check it out! I recently had the privilege of reading his 2006 book Israel and the Nations (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books) in... Read more

Every week I post a quote from the church fathers, and try to ask a question about it that connects it to the church in the 21st century. However I have never really explained who the church fathers are. I thought this video might help bring some light to who these men (and women) actually were. It’s by Jimmy Akin, a popular Catholic apologist. Read more