I don’t know about you but I am sick and tired of everyone telling me their 5, 10 or even 50 tips for success, aka fame and fortune. As Christians I think that our view of success should be totally different from that of the secular world’s, yet often we buy into the same values. And as we plant churches …
Change is here to stay. Whether we like it or not we need to learn how to mold our lives and those of our congregations so that we bend rather than break. Fortunately there are ways to adapt so that our faith grows and strengthens during these times. Here are some principles I have found helpful: Identify or Establish Stability …
It’s Holy week and Jesus journey towards the cross has begun. Many of us have already processed around the church on Palm Sunday. We have already bought our Easter eggs and hot cross buns, diverting our attention from the real meaning of Easter to its commercialized version. How many of us are sucked in? The Most Subversive Week of Jesus …
Sunday was International Women’s Day, a day to celebrate the achievements of women around the world while calling for greater equality. It is not a day that many churches seem to highlight, but I think it raises the question: how well do we do with gender equality in our congregations? A couple of days ago, I was chatting with a friend …
It’s time to get ready for Lent but I am not giving up chocolate or coffee. Lent is not about denial or sacrifice. It is about letting go of all that prevents us wholeheartedly following Christ. I have recently updated Lenten resource lists on my blog. It’s a rather frustrating task because we don’t really need more to read or …
Welcome to a new year filled with incredible potential. Here in Seattle the sun is shining, the Olympic mountains are covered in snow, and it is not hard to believe that only good things lie ahead. By the end of summer, the snow will be gone and the hope and promise they offered may be gone too. Unfortunately, our new …
mulThe deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown impacted all of our lives. Hopefully, it has made many of us consider the great divides that separate us from people of other colours and ethnicities. I wonder if in the roar of the protests what real changes we are willing to make to our lives. Are we really prepared for the …
Christmas is coming. Here in the U.S. the stores are already in full Christmas regalia and carols are blaring throughout the malls. At church, we are getting ready for our pageants and our Christmas parties. The nativity scenes are being assembled, and our images of Jesus and his family alone and abandoned in a dirty stable are forming. Jesus Family …
Recently, I received an email from a young seminarian with one provocative question: “What is truth?” she asked. I smiled and deleted the email, knowing I couldn’t supply an answer. Her theological studies were raising new and unsettling questions about God and what it means to be a Christian. I suspect what she wanted was permission to question her understanding …
Sabbath – its probably one of the most essential, least understood and poorly celebrated of any day on the Christian calendar. For some of us, it’s a set of legalistic rules. For others, it’s the only day of the week to do almost anything we want. For most of us it’s a chance to catch up on sleep and get …