We are a Mission Church. I had just spoken these words to our accountant who comes in quarterly to help us keep current with taxes and the like. She looked a little confused. Then a young man came into the office. He had the tell-tale number tattoo on the side of his head. He asked … Continue reading The Mission Field
Tag: Discipleship
An Old Fashioned Altar Call
An Epiphany! I love it when I get to have an epiphany! It is like the moment when, in your head, pops the word you need to finish the crossword puzzle but 100 times better because it isn’t only an answer you find but God. Of course, it is the wrong season for Epiphany. Today is … Continue reading An Old Fashioned Altar Call
What are you waiting for?
What are you waiting for? This rhetorical question is often used to get us moving and doing. But that’s not the intent today. Our Psalm proclaims “I will wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope…my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning, more … Continue reading What are you waiting for?
Change Your World
The Bible never depicts this world as being fair but it does show us a way through the trouble. A very Jewish tale is told in Mark 6: 17 – 29. In summary, Herod divorces his first wife to marry Herodias. John the Baptists suggests that this is not a good idea. His advice angers … Continue reading Change Your World
Loneliness and Solitude
From the book, The Eternal Now, sermons of Paul Tillich written for college aged young people: "Our lanugage has wisely sensed two sides of man's being alone. It has created the word "loneliness" to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word "solitude" to express the glory of being alone." On … Continue reading Loneliness and Solitude
Speaking Jesus
Christianity certainly has a rich back story found in the Hebrew scriptures. But today I’m more interested in the “after story,” what happens when the final scene has ended. The gospel of John tells the story of Jesus but is written long after Jesus died; long after the resurrection encounters. Yet, despite John being the … Continue reading Speaking Jesus
An Easter Call
Easter morning—He is Risen!—He is Risen, Indeed! Sin and Salvation Jonathan Edwards shouts out We are sinners in the hands of an angry God Look what we have done To ourselves Our neighbors Our nation Our world Our God Look at what we haven’t done For ourselves Our neighbors Our nation Our world Our God … Continue reading An Easter Call
Samosas and Pi
I listened to a film critic’s debate about whether current cinema has become too easy for us to watch. Films like The Help or the Shawshank Redemption were criticized as being too sentimental, too satisfying to watch--providing no deep insight into humanity, moving us nowhere. A few of the critics lamented how movie viewers need … Continue reading Samosas and Pi
Far and Wide
In seminary at Yale Divinity School I was awed to find myself in a vast landscape--that of the Christian witness spoken through the centuries. My perspective, having grown up in the Southern California United Church of Christ, was limited by comparison. I realized I had only seen faith from one small corner of scholarship in … Continue reading Far and Wide
Faith of Jesus
One of the seasons of the Way--the earliest name given to Christianity--is Lent. The season’s beginning is marked with a worship service known as Ash Wednesday. As the name suggests, ashes are central to the imagery and the ritual where the sign of the cross, put on the forehead with ashes, is a sign of … Continue reading Faith of Jesus
The Sixth Day 