I remember seeing an announcement a few years ago for the first Epic Fail pastors gathering, and wondering if the idea was an Onion-inspired joke. No pastors I knew – and I knew a lot of them from my time working at Trinity International University and then serving a Chicago-area church networking ministry – wanted to apply the word “fail” to themselves or their efforts. The leaders gatherings and pastors conferences I’ve attended over the years were all about ministry... Read more
“All’s fair in love and war” the old saying goes, but true love is focused on the good of the other and filters itself accordingly. During the past few hundred years, Western civilizations fought their wars in the name of a king or on behalf of a country, with conventions (at least in principle) that were supposed to guide their warfare. Those old boundaries, the kind found on maps, don’t matter quite so much anymore. Al Queda and their assorted... Read more
I would not typically consider sharing a post someone left on my Facebook wall, but the words below from an old friend are timely in light of the mean-spirited words about suicide that have been written by a few bombastic internet trolls in the wake of the death of Robin Williams earlier this week. I shared a bit of Don and Kathy Groesser’s story here and here a while ago. With Don’s permission, I am sharing his brave, honest confession... Read more
As I shopped for school supplies for my soon-to-be sixth grade grandson at Target last week, I passed by a mom and her daughter doing what looked to be the “stocking the dorm room” shopping trip. The young woman was eagerly scanning the aisles for just the right towels. The mom was pushing the overflowing cart behind her, watching every move her daughter made as she readied for her big launch. There are lots of nostalgic articles and reflections at... Read more
On this date in 587 B.C., the temple built by Solomon was destroyed by the Babylonians. On this very same date in 70 A.D., the temple rebuilt on that site was destroyed by the Romans. On our first visit to Israel in 2009, my husband and I dropped our bags at our Jerusalem hotel. We were exhausted from a long day of travel, but knew we needed to stay awake for a few more hours in order to combat jet... Read more
Happy August, friend! As miserable as last winter was for those of us living in the area of the country caught in the clutches of the Polar Vortex, this summer’s mild temperatures and abundant sunshine have almost erased the memory of mountains of snow andFrozen-like temperatures. (Well, almost.) Though we’re in the second half of summer, many of us are shopping for school supplies and looking ahead to autumn’s schedules. For those of you involved in planning upcoming Bible studies,... Read more
I’ve known a small handful of people who’ve had lives remarkably free from trial, reversal or loss. One woman I used to know had her entire life mapped out using the blueprint of the American Dream, Conservative Christian Version, from a very young age. Her life has gone pretty much the way she’d planned it: marriage, two kids, a dog, lovely suburban home, stable career, a bit of travel, a cozy group of friends. It was pretty amazing to witness... Read more
1987 called. It wants its tissue box cover back. You know the one, made by hand in colonial blue and dusty rose calico. Author David Murrow appears to have found the final resting place of this artifact in the churches he’s visited. He excerpted a section from his book, How Women Help Men Find God, in a blog post entitled “Does Your Church Look Like A Beauty Parlor?”, describing the country-folksy décor in some small and mid-sized church buildings: As I speak in... Read more
Like many of you, I am glued to the news coming out of the Middle East. An ocean of virtual ink has been spilled this summer in debate over the Israel-Gaza war, the Israel-West Bank conflict, and the hard shift caliphate-building ISIS has brought as its taken hold across war-ravaged Syria and Iraq. And the reality is that heart-breaking recent events in Somalia, South Sudan and Ukraine are not disconnected from what is happening in the Middle East. I am writing from... Read more
Each Thursday, the mailman delivers a weekly shopper newspaper to us that includes a few local stories and a feature entitled “Sound Off”. This space is devoted to printing the rants of commenters emboldened by the possibility of complete anonymity. (The paper instructs them to call their pearls of wisdom in to a phone number I suspect is connected to an answering machine in a broom closet.) As the numbers of unaccompanied minors from Central America who have made their... Read more
Pilgrim's Road Trip
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