A good friend asked me recently “If you were pastoring a church today what would you preach on?” My quick response was “How do we love God and neighbor in a post pandemic future?” As I pondered his question a little more deeply however I found myself looking back over the last year and the important questions it has taught …
Churching is changing, the world is changing and we are changing and it seems that everywhere we turn we are being reminded of these changes. The pandemic has changed the way we viewed sacred space and sacred time too. We are hungering for intimate times with God. We all need refreshment. We all need to refuel after a crazy year. …
Many people feel that over this last year Lent has not been a season but a permanent home. In the midst of this, I find myself drawing deeply from the comfort and support that my sacred space with its circle of lights provides for me. Sitting in the midst of these lights, contemplating my “Time to Heal” garden, reading a centering prayer, sensing …
I started getting serious about soul care when things in my life started to change. Living in a new city, getting married, and having a child within 3 years is a lot of change in a short period of time! And over the next few years, not only did things in my personal life shift, but the church I pastored …
We are invited to “delight yourself in the Lord” (Ps. 37:4a), but I have noticed that many Christians haven’t yet experienced God as actually “delightful.” The most enjoyable part of my entire life has been to discover new depths of the delightfulness of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and I would love to see others experience just how wonderful He …
We live in a deeply traumatized world. COVID has changed all of us and the ways we interact with our congregations and communities. Most of us are living in a state of constant anxiety and stress. These last few months have shaken us to the core. Many are filled with fear and uncertainty. We know the future will require change, …
In 1950 Bob Pierce found World Vision[1], the largest Christian relief and development agency in the world. Today World Vision serves more than one hundred million people in over one hundred countries every year. Yet for all the good that World Vision has done and continues to do, the story of their founder is complicated. Passionate for Jesus and for …
I have just started on what I suspect will be a long, slow discernment project. It all began when I was reminded of the trips my parents used to take me and my three brothers on in the summer. We had a big Ford Falcon station wagon behind which we pulled a small caravan. It was so small in fact …
Western culture tells us that relationships matter. Romantic relationships, relational intelligence with bosses and co-workers, good friendships, and casual acquaintances – they all matter. But at the same time we are also told that we need to be independent, self-actualized, make it on our own, not to trust others, and the ultimate goal – financial independence! My wife and I …
“Social distancing” – two words that are both a benefit and a curse. We were created for connection with people and yet, physical connection in this time is dangerous. The effects of “social distancing” have kept people safe and decreased the spread of the virus and flu, but has also increased isolation of people, created in God’s image to be …