I am thankful for my church because: 1. they have loved me consistently for over 10 years 2. they have always been there when I needed them 3. they are radicals on the lookout for the move of the Spirit 4. they hunger and thirst after God (it shows in their worship, prayer, study and lives) 5. they have an infectious love for Jesus 6. they love my kids with a genuine kindness 7. they love to party 8. they... Read more

“Commendation in newspapers and by distinguished individuals is all that a vain man could wish” (Abraham Lincoln). Read more

“The world possesses deep and penetrating insight. It refuses to admit your supposed superiority. It recognizes at once that you are flesh of its flesh, bone of its bone. Your corruption renders you unfit to work for God and to take the lead in advancing his cause. You act in precise contradiction to the profession which you have not unreasonably adopted; for you undertake a mission without being sent. Where law is, the ‘world’ expects a doing of the law;... Read more

“Our real journey in life is interior: it is a matter of growth, deepening, and of an ever greater surrender to the creative action of love and grace in our hearts. Never was it more necessary to respond to that action. I pray that we may all do so” (Thomas Merton). </p><br /> Read more

Tomorrow I start full time as the pastor of Rothesay Vineyard, yet again, and I’m feeling very, very nervous. Why? Here’s a few theories, one or all of which may be true: 1. It’s the first time in four years I’ve been responsible for a church? 2. the last time I was responsible for a church, I was excused from the ministry for “insubordination” (and I’m a little skiddish as a result)? 3. for the last four years, I’ve been... Read more

“A kind of northing is what I wish to accomplish, a single-minded trek toward that place where any shutter left open to the zenith at night will record the wheeling of all the sky’s stars as a pattern of perfect, concentric circles. I seek a reduction, a shedding, a sloughing off” (Annie Dillard). </p><br /> Read more

“Both theology and the natural sciences are to be seen as a posteriori activities, which are a response to ‘the given’. In the case of the natural sciences, ‘the given’ is the world of nature; in the case of theology, ‘the given’ is God’s self-revelation in Christ” (Torrance ). I like this quote and agree with it. I can see, however, that it can be problematic for many people. The problem is this: the ‘given’ of the world is obvious... Read more