Here are a few of the websites and books I’ve used over the years to help me explore the practice of Fixed Hour Prayer. I am usually a late adopter in terms of technology, so although I’ve tried a few apps, I haven’t found anything I recommend yet. Some of the following resources have a corresponding app that you can download, but these are links to online helps and books you can buy. MissionStClare.com The Audio Version of the Book of... Read more
I’ve been thinking about doubt a lot lately, and its central importance in the act of faith. Over the years I’ve come to believe that if you don’t, at one time or another, doubt nearly every aspect of the Christian faith, then you are simply not taking it seriously. Here are a few of my favorite quotes on the essential nature of doubt to the Christian experience: “Doubt isn’t the opposite of faith; it is an element of faith…... Read more
Have you heard the term Chreastians. It’s a mash-up of Christmas-Easter-Christians that refers to those who only go to church on Christmas and Easter. It’s the Christian equivalent to only watching the season opener and the final game of the World Series. Chreastians is a bad word both aesthetically and in it’s derogatory intention. These days I’m glad when anybody shows up to worship no matter what day it is – so the good news for our Christmas and Easter friends is that we won’t... Read more
Rational, sane, compassionate people who come face to face with the unthinkable violence of Muslim extremist terrorists have to be asking themselves what are these people after? What do they want? What can they possibly think they are accomplishing? The very best answer I’ve found to these questions, at least as they relate to ISIS sponsored terrorism, comes from an article that ran in The Atlantic earlier this year called “What ISIS Really Wants.” The first premise of the article... Read more
“I am busy because I am vain. I want to appear important. Significant. What better way than to be busy? The incredible hours, the crowded schedule, and the heavy demands on my time are proof to myself – and to all who will notice – that I am important.” – Eugene Peterson I am convinced that one of the most powerful reasons that most of us choose busyness over rest is that we think busy equals important. We choose chronic... Read more
“You have been given questions to which you cannot be given answers. You will have to live them out – perhaps a little at a time.” “To love anything good, at any cost, is a bargain.” “I could die in peace, I think, if the world was beautiful. To know it’s being ruined is hard.” “Christ did not come to found an organized religion but… to found an unorganized one.” “Faith is not necessarily, or not soon, a resting place.... Read more
As we near the halfway point of the season of Lent it occurs to me that among the Christians who have no observance of lent, there might be more than a few who feel a little bit left out. What does one do if their church pays no attention to the season of lent? My advice would be to simply pick a lenten practice of your own and start in. There may also be a group of people who intended to observe lent,... Read more
On the list of the richest people in America, Charles and David Koch stand tied for 5th, each sitting on top of a $41 billion fortune. If you counted them together their $82 billion would easily win them first place, besting Bill Gates by over $6 billion. Bill and Melinda Gates have pledged, and are in the process of giving away nearly all of their fortune to charity. The Koch brothers have pledged to spend $900 million electing the presidential candidate who can... Read more
This week is when you really set the tone for lent. The “new” has probably worn off your lenten commitments by now, and all that’s left is the aggravation of self-denial. I spent the weekend at a basketball tournament watching my kids devour candy and milkshakes. It was brutal. I am so spoiled. Thank heavens we never fast on Sundays. I think I put myself dangerously close to a sugar coma yesterday binging on chocolate and calling it resurrection. I can... Read more
As more and more evangelical Christians embrace church traditions such as lent (and evangelicals really need lent), we tend to bring our particular brand of zestful enthusiasm to the project. Let’s be honest: this means we will probably over-do it. At my church we put a high premium on beauty, which means the way we do things, the mode in which we do them, the materials, the methods, the movements, the aesthetic… these things are as important as the words we use. Ash... Read more
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