The Memorial Day weekend signals for many the beginning of summer. We may well find ourselves with some extra time for play, rest, and rejuvenation. This is a great time to catch up on reading and listening. Here are some books and podcasts I’ll be checking out this summer. Era of Ignition: Coming of Age…
4 Prayers for the Nation on the National Day of Prayer
What are you praying for today? Today marks the National Day of Prayer. This day was signed into being by Harry S. Truman, originally as a Spring counterpart to Thanksgiving. The idea was that Americans, from all faith backgrounds, would take a day to give thanks and to offer prayers for the United States and her…
Be Kind. Rewind
A few weeks ago we were doing some Spring(ish) cleaning. In one of the boxes that we have moved several times but have yet to successfully open, I found a VCR tape from Blockbuster Video. Back in the day, this was how we watched movies at home. This is how it worked- you would go…
If I Had Grown Up Here…Reflections from Bosnia on New Zealand
"If I had grown up here, I would be of the Muslim faith." Hearing of the Mosque bombings in New Zealand, I went back to my notes to make sure it was written as I had remembered. If I had grown up here, I would be of the Muslim faith." It was. Twelve years later,…
4 Things You Need to Do to Prepare Your Church to Welcome New People
By Tuesday, pastors and lay leaders have put last Sunday in the rear-view mirror and are thinking and planning for next Sunday. The thing about Sunday is that it always comes and there are no re-runs. Many are looking at visiting a church, perhaps your church, this Sunday. Welcoming these guests isn't as simple as opening…
3 Reasons Why More People Are Doing Lent
Several years ago I was talking with someone who attended the local mega-church. He was excited to tell me that his pastor had started a new tradition leading up to Easter called Lent. I asked if he meant that the church had started to observe Lent this year. "Oh no, he invented it for this year. Isn' t it…
A Smudge
What are those on your forehead? What are you giving up? Two questions you rarely hear asked except for one day out of the year- Ash Wednesday. People often ask what I miss most about serving a congregation- there are many things- but one thing that always surprises them is when I say "Ash Wednesday." I…
3 Issues Worthy of a National Emergency
The term “national emergency” has recently taken its place in our vocabulary. The President declared a national emergency in response to what he considers to be a crisis at the US border with Mexico. Of course, there is way more to this declaration, but that’s another discussion for another day. While I don’t disagree that…
10 Books for 2018
I typically try to read around 50 books each year. Some are for ministry or work, some are for pleasure, and some are academic. Since we are closing out 2018, here are the 10 books that made the biggest impression on me this year. These were not necessarily published this year, however all of these…
Our Better Nature
By now, you’ve seen either the video or the picture of Bob Dole standing up from his wheelchair to give President George H.W. Bush one final salute. If the scene doesn’t stir something inside you, I suspect nothing will. I realized that those are the first two people that I didn’t vote for in terms…
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