– Did you know you can get corn on your pizza in Israel? – The day before Israeli Independence Day is a solemn day known as Yom Hazikaron (Israeli Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terrorism Remembrance Day). At 11:00 AM, the air raid sirens sounded. Everything in the country comes to a halt. Cars stop. People freeze in place on sidewalks and in office buildings. They stand at attention, in silence for two minutes. Remembrance is personal in the country,... Read more

We made it after 24 grueling hours of travel. It feels like we never left Jerusalem, perhaps because we left a piece of our hearts here in February. We at dinner looking at a view like this one, and we tasted the goodness of God. More to follow. Time to have our friend, the cheerful blue butterfly named Ms. Lunesta, flutter in and sprinkle some of her pixie dust on us so we can get some sleep. Read more

So many questions…Feel free to give me some answers. Or add some random questions of your own! Do you view yourself as a spiritual settler, a wanderer, a pilgrim or an exile? None of the above? All of the above? I would like to propose a new rule: the only church leaders who are allowed to complain about church-hopping congregants are those who have been with their church for at least 7 years. Agree or disagree? Why? I have been... Read more

Tomorrow is Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day – and in light of the staggering hatred of that era, and of the genocidal, demonic activity that has anhiliated subsequent generations in places like Bosnia and Rwanda – I found myself pondering Pastor Martin Niemoller’s words today. Niemoller spent 8 years in prison during the second world war, and survived his time in the concentration camps. Remembrance means more than recalling information. It is courage to act now on what has come... Read more

We’d been living in a rental townhome in Gurnee, IL. It had its charms: it was on a golf course, which meant that the grounds were pretty well-kept. But it had its downside, too. The complex was built for some swingin’ empty-nesters in the mid-1970’s, and our unit hadn’t been updated since then. As in, we had harvest gold appliances and laminate faux butcher block countertops in the kitchen, and a 2-story Fred Flintsone fake boulder fireplace. The place could... Read more

I have long-admired Frank Viola’s thinking. Do I always agree with him? No. But Bill and I have traveled some of the same terrain he has in Christendom, and can affirm most of his thoughtful conclusions about the church. His sometimes-barbed critiques have been written from a “friend of the Bridegroom” perspective. He loves what the Bridegroom loves – the church – and loathes religion. Amen, Frank! I imagined Viola’s newest book, From Eternity To Here: Rediscovering The Ageless Purpose... Read more

Why is this night different than all other nights? Why is that on all other nights during the year we eat either bread or matzo, but on this night we eat only matzo? Why is it that on all other nights we eat all kinds of herbs, but on this night we eat only bitter herbs? Why is it that on all other nights we do not dip our herbs even once, but on this night we dip them twice?... Read more

In the liturgical year, tomorrow is the day known as “Lazarus Saturday“. The story of the resurrection of Lazarus can be found here. Of all the supernatural reports found in the gospels, of water-to-wine and blind eyes seeing, this is the episode that gives me an intimate look at the kind of person Jesus was. Most of the other Biblical accounts of miracles are tantalizing twitter-style headlines: “Bleeding woman healed”, “Paralytic runs out of house after meeting Jesus”, “Demonized man... Read more

From the top of my reading stack: When I saw Chosen: An Autobiography sitting at the top of the “new releases” shelf at the Trinity Bookstore, I grabbed it last week during the store’s 40% off clearance sale. (See note about why the store had 40% off new releases, below.) Chosen is the life story of Michele Guinness, a Jewish believer married to an Anglican priest. The book is veddy British, containing lots of references to places (WH Smith’s in... Read more

This series of posts entitled “The Coming Evangelical Collapse” by one of my favorite internet teachers, Michael Spencer, a.k.a. The Internet Monk, has gotten a LOT of coverage from Christian media as well as being picked up by Drudge and the Christian Science Monitor. (If you haven’t read these posts yet, please grab yourself a cup of coffee, sit down and read through all three in the series.) There isn’t anything new I can add to the conversation. Suffice it... Read more