My kind of town, Chicago is… (No idea who that man is with the Cubby Bear.) |inline Read more
My kind of town, Chicago is… (No idea who that man is with the Cubby Bear.) |inline Read more
When the word “prayer” is said to you what comes to mind? This is a question Tracy Balzer asks in her book Thin Places. Guilt? Longing? Confusion? Consolation? Desolation? Prayer is important and her chp on prayer provides a way to add depth and perspective and variety to our prayers. |inline Read more
Yesterday’s mail included, much to my delight, the letters of Mother Teresa called Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light. Last week the book stirred controversy because the depth and duration of her darkness became public. I’d like to spend some time with this book so today’s post is just to whet our appetite. |inline Read more
Now, how does one talk about Matthew 24 in one day? By keeping it short and to the point. I’ll do my best. |inline Read more
The following is a chapter from our forthcoming 40 Days Living the Jesus Creed. It is as yet unedited; we have forty chapters that explore dimensions of the Jesus Creed in the Gospels and the early Christian leaders. |inline Read more
Sometimes the news, particularly the items judged newsworthy, can be depressing. So, I thought this might be a good prayer for us today: |inline Read more
The harshest words Jesus ever uttered can be found in Matthew 23. It is not possible to do a full study here, so I will make a few points. In essence, his point is this: “hypocrisy” transcends the common contradiction of practice and belief. For Jesus it refers to both contradiction and false moral guide. |inline Read more
Some people lose their faith and then find it again. In Timothy Larsen’s new book Crisis of Doubt, we are treated to seven such figures in 19th Century England. They had a secularist crisis of (their) doubt. This way of framing the issue, namely losing faith and then finding faith again, can be explained in various ways theologically, but anecdotally it looks like this. |inline Read more
Kris and I will be at King of Glory Lutheran Church in Dallas, TX, this Saturday (7:30pm). I will be talking about the Jesus Creed in this public event and will also be bringing in some new material from my forthcoming 40 Days with the Jesus Creed. It’s the first time I’ve done some Jesus Creed stuff in a Lutheran church so we are excited about this opportunity. Will Dallas be any hotter than Chicago right now? We’re committed to... Read more
Missional Jesus points his own way. Here we find a story, in Mark 12, that perfectly illustrates the first beatitude: Blessed are the poor. The way to the kingdom, the way to peace in the Land, is not the way of compromise with Rome. The way is the way of the poor widow. |inline Read more