I confess that I’m somewhat preoccupied with questions regarding the use of time. I confess that this is primarily because I’m still engaged in a fight to take a consistent Sabbath. I failed again last week as I spent one day listening to Andrew Zirschky and being with friends. (It was well worth the time, though, and I’ll get a post up about AZ’s talk this week). My latest approach is to set my alarm for 5:30 every morning and... Read more
I actually think I might have sat in on this session at one time or another… a touch of reductio ad absurdum from Fr. Roland Wise can be helpful in terms of helping us to acknowledge just how deeply our faith has been shaped by the American story of bigger, better, stronger, higher, faster. Happy Friday everyone. Read more
2014.03.24 – Lent 04 John 9:1-41 – The Man Born Blind There was a story in the news a few years back – a man in the UK had been fired from his job for religious reasons. I figured it was an evangelical or Jehovah’s witness proselytizing at work. Turns out it was a English Premier League soccer coach. He had given an interview in which he said people born w/birth defects, disabilities were being punished for the sins they... Read more
I have a problem with April Fools’ Day… several, actually. First: apostrophe or no apostrophe? Isn’t it acceptable to write “April Fools Day,” sans apostrophe? And if we are to go with an apostrophe, where do you put it? “April Fool’s Day” or “April Fools’ Day”? I’m pretty sure it is the latter, which means there is no way to write it without looking like a stuffy grammatical elitist – which is clearly not what this day is about. And how... Read more
I confess that I’m on week two of trying to take a Sabbath on Friday. It didn’t work very well last week, although I did work ahead enough to have an entire Saturday with my family, which was pretty big for me. The whole plan is contingent upon my ability to get sermon prep started on Monday morning. I confess that I’m pretty sure this will never happen as long as I continue to schedule things during that time. I... Read more
This is the sermon I preached last Sunday at my church Redemption Church. If you are a pastor feel free to copy & steal everything. 2014.03.23 – Lent 03 John 4:5-42 – The Samaritan Woman at the Well We are in the season of Lent – our own 40 days in the wilderness during which we practice these little fasts. Not in order to punish ourselves, but just to create some disorientation; and hopefully (on the other side of it)... Read more
Every now and then I have one of those days when I struggle to make sense of the work I do. One of my favorite antidotes – if I can find the time – is to watch an episode of Rev. from the BBC. It’s my own creamy tropical Jesus splash, which is, for the record, much preferable to the Merry Berry Jesus Explosion (for more reasons than just the taste). If you’ve never watched the show you can catch... Read more
I confess that I went skiing last week with my family and didn’t get any blogging done. I had a couple of posts ready to go ahead of time, but the internet connection at the place we stayed was impossibly slow and I could never get them posted. My apologies for disappearing for a week. However, it was a really good week with my family. I confess to feeling so very fortunate to get to be roped together with these... Read more
St. Patrick’s Day is just around the corner, so here’s a little Friday Funny. How did this guy make it through without getting punched at least once? Happy Friday everyone. Read more
I’m posting the transcript of my message from last week again here today, but with a look at my method, and how I work using a manuscript. I usually type my talks out word for word, but I have always preferred to work from an outline when I’m speaking. So what I settled on early was to type out a manuscript in a form that looks more like an outline. It is the full script – which makes me more... Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In