I confess that its December 16th, and our Christmas tree isn’t decorated yet. It’s up, and the rest of our decorations are in place. I even put lights up outside for the first time in recent memory. But the tree still stands there naked as a jaybird. We are hoping to get to it tomorrow. I confess that we’ve been hoping this for awhile. I confess that I have paused my Breaking Bad binge-watching for several reasons. First, I can’t... Read more
In case you haven’t heard about it, news agencies have been reporting that a man posing as a sign-language interpreter was on stage during Nelson Mandela’s funeral this week, standing next to heads of state including President Obama. Only problem is that he didn’t really know sign language and wasn’t signing their remarks. The story gets even more bizarre. According to a report in the NYTimes this morning, the man, Thamsanqa Jantjie, is a paranoid schizophrenic with violent tendencies who was... Read more
In case you missed it, rock-star pastor Mark Driscoll was recently accused on air by a radio host of committing plagiarism in one of his books. She had the goods on him, too. You can Google the whole thing, and read the two passages, and Jonathan Merritt has chronicled the drama. It’s pretty obvious that Driscoll copped whole sections from a Bible commentary, changing only a few words here and there, without properly citing it. There’s been a lot of... Read more
It really is a movie devoid of any redeeming qualities save one: it’s hilarious. This was one of the first movies I ever experienced that was completely hilarious when I watched it with my guy friends, and not so much when I watched it with my wife. Well, round two hits theaters in a couple of weeks, so here’s your Friday Funny. In the words of Ron Burgundy, “I immediately regret this decision.” Read more
My name is Tim Suttle. I’m married with two children under the age of ten, and I’m a pastor of a small church in the Kansas City area. Last summer my family received a letter telling us that our insurance provider was cancelling our policy because it would not meet the minimum standards set forth by the ACA when it goes into effect in 2014. At first we were surprised and a little bit alarmed. It only took us about... Read more
I confess that today’s Monday Morning Confessional is totally self-indulgent. You’ve been warned. I confess that I have been sick since Saturday. You have no idea how much I hate writing that sentence. I rarely get sick, which is sort of a point of pride for me. But there’s no doubt about it. I was down and out for four straight days. I can’t remember being this sick for this long in my entire life. I missed church on Sunday... Read more
It’s just so funny… “You’re Welcoming” Read more
Pope Francis continues to subvert conservative politics as it relates to the Christian faith. Income Inequality, consumerism, and individualism played a major role in Pope Francis’ latest writings, an Apostolic Exhortation called Evangelii Guadium. Here are a few highlights: THE CHURCH “I prefer a Church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a Church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security.” 49 INCOME INEQUALITY... Read more
I come from a family of six. My mom and dad were high school sweethearts who married young and have stayed together for 50 years. They had four kids in about 10 minutes, and all of us crowded into a small three bedroom house that burned nearly to the ground when I was six. My parents rebuilt, kept the wheels from coming off the cart, and grew close without too much in the way of scars. Mom and dad were... Read more
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Monday Morning Confessional
I confess that I am getting really tired of being sick! The flu turned into pneumonia and has totally slammed me. I lost ten pounds last week, can you believe that? … not a weight loss plan I would recommend. Anyway, Dr. Scott gave me some sort of nuclear-powered antibiotics and I’m finally starting to feel a little better. I’m hopeful that this will be a week of productivity and healing. I confess that I owe my wife big time... Read more