How to Practice an Everyday Resurrection

Easter is over. We have celebrated the Resurrection and many of us are back to life as usual. These pivotal days of our faith seem to make little difference in the way we live. It’s More than a Day In the church calendar, Easter is a season, not a day. It extends from Easter Sunday until Pentecost, this year celebrated on …

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5 Practices for Rediscovering Civil Discourse

It has been a challenging season for me. Every time I write something it seems keyboard warriors are out in force, criticizing, abusing and telling me why I am wrong and they are right. Our Christian society is becoming more polarized, not just around political issues, but over issues of race, immigration, gender and homelessness to name just a few. …

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Let’s Get Creative For Lent

Lent is the forty-day period before Easter that commemorates Jesus’ sojourn in the wilderness in preparation for the launch of his ministry. In the early church, Lent was a time to prepare for baptism. Today, it is usually regarded as a season of soul searching, privation, and repentance. It begins with Ash Wednesday and ends at sundown on Maundy Thursday. …

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50 Resources to Make This the Best Advent Ever

Advent is here! This beautiful season which marks the beginning of the liturgical year began on November 29 and will conclude on Christmas Eve. Celebrating this important season is a great way to introduce your congregation to the Christian calendar. Advent means arrival, and the season beckons us to ponder three monumental arrivals: The arrival of Christ in flesh as a baby through Mary, the arrival of Christ in …

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What is Good Spiritual Leadership?

As we develop our leadership teams and plan our programs, one question should continually be at the forefront of our thoughts: What is good spiritual leadership? Most of us aspire to be leaders, to be noticed, to feel successful. We want to know that what we do makes a difference in God’s world. I wonder, however, if in striving towards …

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Easy Tools and Simple Rules for Meditation

A couple of weeks ago I collected some rocks from the French drain in front of our property. I intentionally placed my stones where I would notice them throughout the day and week, recognizing that they provide a focus for my prayers and signify my receptivity to the voice of God. In gathering these stones, I invited God to speak …

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Church of a Different Sort

A few months ago I read an interesting article from YES magazine entitled Relearning the Skills of Community. As I read about their check-in time and provision of mutual support I thought – that sounds very much like Christian community to me. Maybe this is church? I have the same response when I read books like Imagination First and Business Secrets …