Happy Birthday, church! Today is Pentecost, the day when we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit coming to the early church. To me, it’s one of the most exciting days of the church year, right up there with Easter and Christmas. It’s a huge celebration, a party. There is much to be thankful for […]
The Age of the Spirit Read More »
We are finishing our two-part series on “Spiritual Spring Cleaning” this week. Last week we talked about how our material possessions can weigh us down and we considered how “living lighter” might affect is spiritually. This week we are going to continue with that, but instead of thinking about the possessions that weigh is down, we
Sermon Remix: Spiritual Spring Cleaning II Read More »
“I came by your office, but you weren’t there…” Yep! For awhile I’ve been thinking about all of my amazing colleagues in ministry and all of the ways they are out in the world healing, caring, advocating, spreading good news. Where’s your pastor? Here are just a few places he or she might be! I
Why Your Pastor Isn’t In… #notinmyoffice Read More »
If a flood came and washed away everything you owned, or a fire burned every single possession in your home to the ground, what would you miss the most? I remember about 6 years ago Elias and I were on a short term Presbyterian Disaster Assistance work project to help some folks in Iowa who
Sermon Remix: Spring Cleaning Part 1 Read More »
How do people answer the question “How are you?” “Fine”, or “good,” Am I right? After that, what do you think the next most popular answer is? I think it’s busy. It’s almost like a reflex. How are you? Busy. The thing about busy as an answer (and I’m just as guilty of this as
Sermon Remix: Sabbath as Relinquishing Control Read More »
Today Northwood was incredibly fortunate to have the Wartburg Choir visit us. The number of choir members was approximately equivalent to the number of other worshippers. The choir was full of energy, grace, and (most importantly) voices that moved us all to tears. The recording of Give Me Jesus, is currently playing on repeat in my
Sermon Remix: The Hailstorm & Wartburg College Read More »
This Thursday, inspired by this post “Be a Poet, not a Preacher During Holy Week,” I read three poems during the Maundy Thursday service For the Dying by John O’Donohue from his book To Bless the Space Between Us Kindness, by Naomi Shihab Nye from her book Words Under the Words and Fair is Fair by
Sermon Remix: Maundy Thursday and Easter Read More »
This prayer from Archbishop Oscar Romero says it all, more eloquently than any of us could. Rest, my friends, and believe these words I bolded some parts that seem to apply to Holy Week preparation: It helps, now and then, to step back and take the long view. The Kingdom is not only beyond our
Prayer for Busy Pastors and Leaders Nearing the End of a Busy Week Read More »
Awhile ago I was keeping up with the “sermon remix” and posting the thoughts from the Sermon on Sunday afternoons so that they could be used in a different way. I don’t know if I’ll be able to remix the sermon for a blog post every week, but I’d like to bring back the idea,
Sermon Remix: Palm Sunday 2016 Read More »
Awhile ago an excellent pastor with many more years experience than I gave me this little book to borrow. “You can’t have it,” she said “but you can borrow it.” I took one look at the cover and thought “Ummm….” I know one should not judge a book by its cover, but there was something
On How We View our Congregations (A Thought for Tired Pastors) Read More »
