My name is Jonathan. I suffer from depression. I have as long as I can remember, although I didn’t always know it was there or what its name was. I’m okay most of the time now. Some days are still better than others. Some months, too. But I have strategies. I have routines. In one of the more hilariously ironic (and lifesaving) moves I’ve ever made, I married a mental health therapist. Before her, I didn’t have a name for... Read more

I know you’re there. I know there are many, many of you out there, no matter what others say. I know how you feel. Writing this blog has shown me just how many of you there are. All ages, races, denominations, who believe wholeheartedly in the historical, liturgical pattern of worship. It’s devastating to see what’s happened to worship in the church. You’re right. The blindness surrounding the issue is astounding. The insistence that the common trends of the day... Read more

Everlasting God, We celebrate new life today. The new life born in Bethlehem, the new life that tiny baby brings to all who suffer from the curse of sin and death. The new life in human form, but that which has always existed, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light. But as we wait here in the tension of the “already but not yet,” the light grows oh so dim. Our flames flicker and wane. Our... Read more

I’ve managed to keep the popular tunes of the season mostly out of my ears and mind this December, although I confess I whistled Mele Kalikimaka for about four hours at my desk yesterday. Could be worse. But instead of talking about the horrible ethical and moral implications of the obligatory holiday muzak, I put together a list of five carols that pull us out of the sentimental fog we find ourselves in this time of year and show us... Read more

As I’ve said before, movements like Hillsong are sapping the life out of congregational singing. Even worse, the influence they’re allowed in both evangelical and now mainline congregations is a sign that we’ve all forgotten the true function and spirit of corporate worship in the life of the church. But what’s happening at the London Hillsong Carols event is completely beyond the pale. I’d like to think that this isn’t considered a worship event, but some kind of theatrical production. Unfortunately,... Read more

As I said in my last post, the worship wars sucked. But they didn’t suck because the way we worship isn’t important. The worship wars sucked because they recreated the church’s worship in our image. They reduced it to a matter of preference. They devalued it into a marketing tool for church growth. And they left us with a weird dynamic in which we tiptoe around too afraid to question the wisdom of the prevailing worship trends and the worship... Read more

Let’s face it. The worship wars sucked. Not because the issue of worship is peripheral. It isn’t. Not because the content of worship isn’t a big deal. It is. Not because, as a recent comment stated, “Satan rejoices when we get bogged down with issues of style.” The worship wars sucked because worship in the church was radically reframed as a matter of preference. After long years of warring, we decided we wanted peace, even if we never really solved... Read more

It’s sick. Another week, another mass shooting. It’s just sick. And it’s sick that it’s happening so often that we can’t even keep track of them anymore. Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for peace. Peace at home, and peace abroad. Peace between neighbors. Peace in a redeemed, restored, and resurrected cosmos, where the wolf lies down with the lamb, and the new creation Christ brings us has won... Read more