Seems you can’t live too long on this earth without realizing that human relationships involve conflict. All the time. The question is, of course, how that conflict is managed (as I often tell couples in premarital counseling). Learn to meet conflict head on and manage it effectively and, well, you’re on your way, way down the road to healthy living. But what about when conflicts just cannot be resolved? No matter how hard you try? Just look around the landscape... Read more
Stanley Hauerwas created a monster. I don’t think he necessarily meant to, but I’m just saying . . . after reading his books, especially A Community of Character, I cannot, ever, understand Christian community outside the power of narrative, or story. Phrases like “your faith story” and “our narrative of faith” and “telling the Gospel story” just make my heart beat fast. And, to be perfectly honest, I thought for sure I would find my Hauerwasian bias toward faith narrative... Read more
. . . from Elizabeth Strout’s sad and deeply true book Abide With Me. This novel is the story of Tyler Caskey, a young New England minister in West Annett, Maine, struggling to find his calling and his balance again after suffering the death of his young wife. Set in the late 1950s, the story contains some very insightful reflections on “what it’s really like”. Here I share a one of the many that struck me: p. 16 ” .... Read more
The other day I was shaken into the reality of my own inability to see clearly. Again.In a moment of weakness I’d promised offspring Sammy I’d go with his class on a field trip visit to National Geographic headquarters. I’d been traveling earlier in the week and had conveniently forgotten my offer . . . only to return home to a very excited 8-year-old who informed me he’d been sleeping with his National Geographic t-shirt since I’d left just so... Read more
The folks over at the John Leland Center invited me to come speak to a class today about what it is like to be a pastor. In twenty minutes. Frankly, there is no way this is possible. But I did my best. I told my story, which is all I know anyway, and shared a list I made of some important things I’ve learned. I also shared with the class that there has been no life experience that has tested... Read more
There are days when I feel absolutely certain I have the weirdest job on the planet. Okay, I know that is probably not technically true, but you do have to admit that I have some pretty strange experiences at work. Yesterday was no exception.I was preaching, as I usually do on Sunday mornings. And I have to say that this was one sermon I really liked; I felt like I’d really wrestled with the text this week and that the... Read more
The last few weeks in worship we’ve been reading those beautiful passages from Revelation 7 and Revelation 21, passages that talk about God wiping tears from human eyes. We know the historical context in which those words were written, a context that included extreme persecution and the knowledge that to be a Christ-follower meant you very well could be saying goodbye to people you loved (not to mention putting your own neck on the line). But there’s something so .... Read more
Faith and ForgivenessA night of theater and discussion Must we forgive an unconscious evil deed? Does redemption supersede the deliverance of justice? Are there some things that can never be forgiven? Please join us on Thursday, May 10, 2007 as Rabbi Joui Hessel of Washington Hebrew Congregation and Reverend Amy Butler of Calvary Baptist Church discuss the views of their respective religions on these and other questions. The discussion will follow a performance of “Renaissance,” a world premiere stage production... Read more
Homework adventures lately include the memorization of Robert Frost’s poem, Mowing. For days we’ve been watching and listening as our 13-year old, baseball-crazy son paces around the house mumbling poetry under his breath. Apparently, he’s been assigned to memorize the poem and recite it in front of his English class. Last night before he went to bed I inquired about his progress. Hayden assured me all was well and, not because I doubt him or anything, I challenged him to... Read more
I’ve been pondering how to write about this week I’ve had, which has perhaps been the hardest ever in my professional career. Actually, in my life, pretty much. Until now, I couldn’t seem to find a handle for writing my feelings down . . . the details of the week are too raw and too tender to put into words. Thank goodness for my colleague Mary, who reminded me of one of the many powerful experiences we’ve shared over the... Read more
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