2010-12-16T08:37:15-07:00

Last updated on: December 16, 2010 at 8:37 am   By

This Sunday I’ll be teaching from the timeless story of the shepherd’s encounter with angels, and their visit to Jesus.  Having been a pastor for 26 years now, there’s a special challenge to preaching during this season.  I’ve done everything: Old Testament prophecies about Jesus, Elizabeth’s pregnancy, Herod’s jealous genocidal slaughter of children, along with all the classic texts.  But really, after 26 years, is there anything new to discover? Always.  This week I’ve been pondering how truth changes our... Read more

2010-12-14T10:31:09-07:00

Last updated on: December 14, 2010 at 10:31 am   By

In the past three weeks, I’ve been reminded often that one of the greatest things we can do to make our lives meaningful and significant is to just keep showing up.  I was privileged to be in Germany when a good friend, Peter Reid, was celebrating his 50th birthday party.  About 10 of us gathered around a big table, beginning at 4:30 in the afternoon, with conversation continuing until well after midnight  (I love European parties, which consist, so often,... Read more

2010-12-09T14:01:51-07:00

Last updated on: December 9, 2010 at 2:01 pm   By

Blogging has allowed me to meet people from all over the world, and I’m happy to introduce one of them to you in todays guest post.  Joshua Becker is a blogger who is deeply involved in his church on the east coast, and writes a marvelous blog called, “Becoming Minimalist”, filled with challenging and encouraging thoughts about living simply.  I hope you’ll check it out.   Here’s his advent contribution to Fibonacci Faith.  Thanks Joshua! John the Baptist had an... Read more

2010-12-09T14:01:51-07:00

Last updated on: December 9, 2010 at 2:01 pm   By

Blogging has allowed me to meet people from all over the world, and I’m happy to introduce one of them to you in todays guest post.  Joshua Becker is a blogger who is deeply involved in his church on the east coast, and writes a marvelous blog called, “Becoming Minimalist”, filled with challenging and encouraging thoughts about living simply.  I hope you’ll check it out.   Here’s his advent contribution to Fibonacci Faith.  Thanks Joshua! John the Baptist had an... Read more

2010-12-06T11:05:49-07:00

Last updated on: December 6, 2010 at 11:05 am   By

In the biography I’m reading just now over here in Austria, I’m struck by how timeless Bonhoeffer’s vision for the church is.  We read, “he felt that what was especially mission from the life of Christians in Germany was the day to day reality of dying to self, of following Christ with ounce of one’s being in every moment, in every part of one’s life.  This dedication and fire existed among pietist groups…but he thought they they bordered on being... Read more

2010-12-04T14:39:52-07:00

Last updated on: December 4, 2010 at 2:39 pm   By

“When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, seeking rest but finding none. Then it says, ‘I will return to the person I came from.’ So it returns and finds its former home empty, swept, and clean.  Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before. That will be the experience of this evil generation.” Matthew... Read more

2010-12-01T08:05:06-07:00

Last updated on: December 1, 2010 at 8:05 am   By

One of the joys that comes from teaching in an international Bible school is that one disocvers how, in spite of our boundaries, ethnic differences, and distinctions in health care policies, the human heart is unchanging.  It’s issues cross the barriers of culture, race, politic, economy, space, and time.  Students are here from all over Europe, Canada, and America, along with some from Asia and at least one student from Africa and all of them are made for the same... Read more

2010-11-28T07:42:16-07:00

Last updated on: November 28, 2010 at 7:42 am   By

I just returned from seeing my daughter off on the train, back to her town in southwest Germany where she’s teaching for at least another 19 months or so.  That last hug before she boarded the train was a hard one, hard to let go.  I’d arrived last Tuesday evening, late, and she was there to pick me up at the train station.  Over the past several days, I’ve celebrated American thanksgiving with some of her friends, watched her brilliantly... Read more

2010-11-28T07:42:16-07:00

Last updated on: November 28, 2010 at 7:42 am   By

I just returned from seeing my daughter off on the train, back to her town in southwest Germany where she’s teaching for at least another 19 months or so.  That last hug before she boarded the train was a hard one, hard to let go.  I’d arrived last Tuesday evening, late, and she was there to pick me up at the train station.  Over the past several days, I’ve celebrated American thanksgiving with some of her friends, watched her brilliantly... Read more

2010-11-24T14:02:46-07:00

Last updated on: November 24, 2010 at 2:02 pm   By

I’m enjoying reading the biography of a favorite Christian: Dietrich Bonhoeffer, while I’m over here in Germany.  He was a German pastor, ultimately arrested and executed because of his overt and covert involvement in the resistance movement. I love reading about German history while I’m over here because this history still bleeds into day to day conversations.  I learned today that the dorm for a local school here once housed Nazi youth, and that the Art Center I visited was... Read more

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