God, how well we remember the celebrations of last year– the hopes and dreams and wild expectations that we dared to allow in our hearts. And now, how troubled we are to recall our faliures! We have not lived up to our own expectations. We have not measured up to your call. The world has not been healed. There is no peace. The poor... Read more

The Rules of Improv: Characters and Relationships 2 Kings 5:1-17 In 2009,America’s longest running soap opera aired its final episode.  Seventy two years and more than 15,000 episodes after its first broadcast as a radio program in 1937, Guiding Light’s main characters drove off into the sunset for their next adventure and left millions of fans hanging. Seventy two years of following three families fromSpringfield,Illinois…to keep a story interesting for that long there’s a whole lot of drama that has... Read more

The Rules of Improv: Change, Change, Change! Mark 1:29-39 I’d like to begin today with a rather unusual approach to examining the text.  Look down your pew…these are the people with whom you will now commence to tell a story, in full, from start to finish.  I’ll begin, then the person on the furthest left (my right) of your pew should continue, all the way down the pew until the final person finishes the story.  If you’re sitting in a... Read more

The Rules of Improv: Take Action! Mark 1:14-20 Every year around this time the family of Calvary Baptist Church takes a step back to think about what it is we are doing here on this corner of Washington, DC, trying our best to be followers of Jesus and to live together in Christian community in such a way that how we live, what we do, who we are, makes and impact in the world around us.  This is no small... Read more

Listen here. The Rules of Improv: Anything is Possible 1 Samuel 3:1-10 Who would have thought, just a few years ago, that a pastor would arrive at church on Sunday morning, having emailed herself the sermon for that day…only to find that the Internet is completely down at church.  So, she takes a very small jump drive and walks a block to find her friend, Rachel Johnson, at Starbucks, where she attaches the jump drive to her friend’s machine, downloads... Read more

The Rules of Improv: Fill in the Blanks Matthew 2:1-12, Epiphany Happy new year to you all.  It feels great to be here in worship beginning the new year together after a hectic holiday season.  Welcome back, and a special thank you to all of you who were with us in worship on Christmas and New Year Days.  I found it a particularly meaningful season because I got to worship with so many of you on both holidays. So.  We... Read more

It’s funny to me.  Today is all about you, Jesus, but we never hear how you felt or what you did. Joseph packed up the family and traveled to Bethlehem; Mary gave birth; the shepherds watched their sheep and the angels sang; the wise men traveled from afar. But what about you? How did you feel, being so suddenly pushed into a dark world, held in the arms of bewildered and scared young parents, burdened so suddenly by all of... Read more

I am feeling disgustingly culturally savvy since taking in the Rembrandt in America installation at the North Carolina Museum of Art recently.  I took Art Appreciation in college, of course, but didn’t really appreciate anything artsy much until I happened to (strangely) birth a son who is a very gifted artist. Who knew? And so, I try to be as conversant as I can, which is usually not that much. Thanks to the NCMA show, however, I had the opportunity... Read more