I don’t usually post stuff like this. Cats, dogs, and babies always seem a bit below the belt for a Friday Funny. But this is such a rich emotional experience. I couldn’t resist. If you have kids this probably happened to you a few times–the first full on belly laugh. The kid just goes for it and you are lucky to bear witness to it, and to interact with that kind of unmitigated joyfulness. In the midst of it your... Read more
I preached this sermon in 2013. If you are a pastor feel free to copy and steal everything. Easter 7A – John 17:1-11 A Missional Reading of the High Priestly Prayer Read text first. Just Southeast of Rome about 100 miles there is a little town called Roseto Valfortore. It’s a pretty unremarkable town – an old medieval style village, town square, city wall… The life of the town revolved around the local Marble Quarries. That was where everybody worked,... Read more
Early in the spring I sat in the passenger seat of my friend Isaac Anderson’s car listening to an EP by a band he was thinking about writing about. I’ve spent most of my life playing in bands. I’ve signed record deals and tracked my radio hits. I’ve cashed my royalty checks like they’d always keep showing up in my mailbox. I devoted my life to the road for the better part of a decade. If I had a dime... Read more
I confess that I’ve begun hitting snooze too often on my 5:30am wake up. I started this schedule in mid-March and until now I have successfully limited myself to one snooze, if any. Last week of school, though… not good. I think I’m at that point in forming a new habit where the novelty is gone, & I’ve begun to take for granted all the benefits of an early wakeup (even though there are so many). It’s a dangerous time... Read more
Cue the Gladwell haters… Happy Friday everyone! Read more
Here’s my sermon from last week. If you are a pastor, feel free to copy and steal everything. 2014.05.18 – Easter 05 Acts 7 – Martyrdom of Steven Awhile back I heard a story about a woman named Marie Walsh; just your typical suburban soccer mom: married for 23 years to a successful accountant, three kids in high school & college, close knit happy family, everything about her life seemed completely normal. Until one morning phone rang & man said... Read more
I confess that I am headed up to Conception Abbey on retreat for the next few days. I’m not sure how much of a committed blogger I’ll be during that time. There’s no wifi at the abbey (although I hear there might have been some discussion about beginning to offer it… not sure how I feel about that). I will at least post my sermon from this past week at some time on Wednesday. I confess that a little before... Read more
You’ll have to forgive me, but I’m just a little bit pissed off. I think I’ve made my thoughts about contemporary pop music pretty clear–you can read a full post on the subject here. It’s not a lack of ability. The pool of talent is rich and diverse: great musicians, singers, songwriters, producers, dancers, performers–these folks are incredibly gifted. The problem is they have nothing to say. Even worse, they seem to be engaged in some sort of contest to see... Read more
This is the message from last week at my church. We took a quick break from the lectionary to hook up with our mother church, Heartland Community Church, and do a two part series called “Temple Jenga.” If you are a pastor feel free to copy and steal everything. 2014.05.11 – Temple Jenga Mark 13 About 1000 yrs ago a group of Vikings led by Erik the Red set sail from the coast of Norway for the vast Arctic landmass... Read more
I confess that I think the Red Headed Woodpeckers that pecked through our chimney and made a nest in the wall have apparently moved on. I’ve not seen the pair around lately, so it’s probably time to start patching over their handiwork. I can do the woodwork. The difficult part is the ladder, because I’m deathly afraid of heights. Technically, I’m not afraid of heights I’m afraid of falling. And not so much falling as hitting the ground at a... Read more
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