A new school year begins and students, teachers, administrators, and staff are filled with anticipation and with trepidation Anticipation for learning and growth, for friendships that will be developed, and for lives that will be changed for the better through education. Trepidation for continuing to navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic, for tough assignments, for days…
The Gospel According to Christmas Vacation
I was in my early teens when my friends and I went to the movies to see National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. This was one of the first PG-13 movies I remember seeing in the theaters (do you remember those? Before March, we used to go to this building called a theater to see movies) Now…
Braving the Wilderness Series Preview
The world has never seen anything like this. Plans wrecked, sickness wreaking havoc, entire countries sent into exile. Oh... you thought I was talking about the last six months or so. I might be, but I also could be referring to the 13th century BCE and the events of the book in the Hebrew Bible that is the Exodus.
When Jesus Said…Get Lost
Pivoting
I've probably heard the word pivot more in the last three months than I have heard it in my entire life. I've probably used the word pivot more in the last three months than I've have in my entire life. In a COVID-19 world, pivoting has become trendy. We are doing things in a new…
6 Things I’ve Learned at the Church Door
I was thinking the other day about what I miss most about having church in-person. There are many things to miss about not being able to gather in-person and when we do, I suspect church will look different for the foreseeable future. It struck me that I really miss church door conversations. Now, I know…
The Holy Spirit as Agitator
This is an approximation of the words I shared during my sermon on May 31, 2020 on Pentecost The Holy Spirit as Agitator We need an agitator in our collective lives. This has been a tragic week in our nation with the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. On a day when we celebrate the…
We Don’t Agree…Now What?
“Go along so we can get along” How many times in your life has someone told you that? It’s never felt very good to me, when another tells me that I should conform to expectations, just so we can move along. It does not create a fulfilling life nor needed change. We like unity. We…
4 COVID-19 Church Discoveries
Confession time, I don't like the term new normal. Normal is subjective to one's experience and the word normal implies that we all have the same experiences. We are using so much these days because we simply don't know what else to say. We also don't know what life will look like in the coming months, maybe even years.…
A Pastoral Response to Coronavirus
It seems unreal that a couple of months ago many of us had never heard the word coronavirus.Today, that word dominates much of our conversation, our thoughts, even our actions. I write this as a pastor, not someone with any infectious disease knowledge. You don't need me to tell you to wash your hands. Two…
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