It is my opinion that preaching on The Parable of the Prodigal Son is almost as challenging as preaching on Easter.  On the other hand, it’s a unique kind of discipline to open such a familiar text and try to read it with new eyes.   This time around I couldn’t help but think about how all the characters in the story are a little bit lost, and maybe it’s our challenge to identify our own lost-ness just to know... Read more

We affectionately call our community the Zoo, mostly because you never know what might happen when you show up for worship at Calvary Baptist Church.  In the seven years I have been here, for example, we have had arrests in worship, the fire alarm going off during the sermon, complete failure of the sound system, visitors with tambourines, etc.  One notable Sunday last summer, a visitor came to worship . . . in full superhero regalia.  Wearing a cape.  So, while... Read more

So far, so good in Richmond.  I’m having a great time enjoying the hospitality of the fine folks at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, and it seems like I haven’t scared them too much yet.  We’re spending the week reading Gospel passages and exploring what it might mean for us to live a radical Gospel…The Gospel in the Twenty-First Century is our theme.  Today we read the story from John Chapter 2, the story of Jesus turning over the tables of the money... Read more

I’m still thinking about ashes; here are some more reflections over at ABP. I’m venturing south this week to spend some time in Richmond with the good folks at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.  Last year they graciously invited me to be their preacher this week, and in a fit of temporary insanity I agreed.  Now I am so scared I’m spending most of my time doing deep breathing exercises.  I think it was Eleanor Roosevelt who said, “Do something everyday... Read more

True confession: there were many years of my life when I wished that I could sing like Sandi Patty.  Please just keep your snickers to a minimum, give me credit for no longer wearing leg warmers, and admit that she does have a very beautiful voice.  I concede that it is kind of embarrassing, but you know there’s dirt on you somewhere, too.  Thank goodness I moved past my Sandi Patty phase (which, by the way was in Junior High)... Read more

You’ve seen them all day today—crowded into the Metro cars, brushing past your shoulder as you rush along the sidewalks, standing in line beside you at the counter, waiting for coffee.  Have you had the same compulsion I have?  To lean over and whisper . . . “you know, you’ve got a smudge or something right there, on your forehead . . . .” And, yet, here we are, gathered in the quiet, waiting for our smudges to mark our... Read more

I visited Woodbrook Baptist Church in Baltimore Sunday, as their pastor John Ballenger and I swapped pulpits for the day.  Included in their order of worship were some thoughts on faith from William Sloane Coffin.  I thought I’d share them here: There is nothing anti-intellectual about the leap of faith, for faith is not believing without proof but trusting without reservation.  Faith is no subsitute for thinking.  On the contrary, it is what makes good thinking possible.  It has what... Read more

I can’t tell you how many times I have heard (and, honestly, probably said) those four words.  Sometimes my list of things I should read gets overwhelming.  Our recent enforced hibernation due to snow, however, took me all the way to the end of James Michener’s Hawaii and back to the pile of “books I should read.” Next on my list was a book lent to me with those four words by my Calvary colleague, Leah, who heard the suggestion... Read more

Is it wrong to make judgements about people based on the experience of standing behind them in line at the grocery store?  I wondered this the other day as I stood in line at Safeway waiting my turn, idly observing the man in line at the register in front of me and thinking: “Well, obviously he and I could never be friends.” My unconcious musing startled me, because I like to think I crave diversity in my life and even... Read more

Last Sunday Calvary’s congregation spent worship thinking about what committing your life to a community of faith might mean.  There were some powerful shared thoughts from members and a shared litany that spoke of our significant recommitment as the church year begins again.  I know this kind of commitment is a lot to ask from folks, especially when our lives are so busy and chaotic.  But, I have to wonder how the absence of this community of faith would impact... Read more