My Favorite Proverb There is one particular biblical verse with which I have been infatuated for some time and which I have made a constant conscious commitment to follow. That verse goes a little something like this: “Ten cubits shall be the length of each board and one and a half cubits the width of each board…” No… no… wait. Hold on, that’s Exodus. That’s not it… let me see here… ah, yes. Okay –...
This year has been a bit crazy. American politics are more than ever divided between the right and the left. Terrorism abroad and at home have people in fear and often their neighbors have become a source of that fear. Racial tensions are a powder keg of emotion and pain. It seems that there are divergent viewpoints on almost everything. In the theological world, pastors and scholars are under careful scrutiny for everything they do...
One of the things that I get to do to kick off Sunday services is to host the servant leaders prayer meeting. Generally, I try to put a relational spin to it, just so there isn’t this daunting vibe that’s hanging over the group right before they meet and encourage the arriving crowds. When we began, I shared a bit how everything’s been stressful and busy. Immediately, our mischievous praise leader commented and asked, “So,...
Thursday’s attack in Nice, France (le 14 juillet) follows a painful procession of recent attacks that have occurred throughout our world, many within the past month of Ramadan. France, still collectively recovering from Le Bataclan (and Hebdo before it) finds herself in a heartbreakingly familiar and now seemingly permanent state of alertness and grief. Elsewhere flags around the world appear to remain at a perpetual half-mast this summer. People all over are growing accustomed to...
At the table sat seven fishermen, a tax collector, a zealot, and the other three apostles who at the very least were Jews. If you’re like me and grew up in 21st century United States, then that probably wasn’t the most eyebrow raising description. Except for the tax collectors, because I don’t think the majority of us have happy feelings when we think of the IRS. But what was it actually like? The fishermen were...
Earlier this week, a friend of mine pulled out his phone and opened what looked like Google maps. Only, it looked more pixelated, and it showed not restaurants but Pokemon. I was introduced then to the new craze that is Pokemon Go. Pokemon Go is a virtual reality smartphone game in which players can find, capture, and battle Pokemon around the world. In the old games, you controlled a little character who would find a...
With the age of Pinterest and bridal websites galore, wedding planning has become such an enormous commercial industry. As a bride-to-be, I’ve had to wade through the myriads of bridal advertisements that flood the inbox of my email, post on the ad space of every website that I visit, and pop up on every Facebook ad on my Newsfeed. Social media has definitely made wedding planning much more complicated with so many options and ideas....
This summer for me has been one of language learning and travel to foreign countries — an experience that continues to bring home for me the difficulties involved with human communication. It is hard enough to complete a shopping transaction in a foreign language let alone present a lecture or tell someone how I am doing. Even back home, I feel like my language lets me down and I remain less than fully understood by...
[If you haven’t read Harry Potter, don’t read this post. Exit out of it and buy the first book here]. This week was the anniversary of when Harry Potter and his friends entered the department of Mysteries in the Ministry of Magic (in Order of the Phoenix). It is by far my favorite scene in the whole series (Order of the Phoenix, however, is not my favorite book!). For those who need a brief reminder: Harry thinks...
Question of Origins What are the origins of Christian baptism? A quick perusal of the biblical texts might leave one perplexed as to the sudden appearance of baptism in the New Testament.1 Immediately and without explanation one is confronted with the appearance of John “the Baptist” and the practice of baptizing in water (Matt 3:1ff). Everyone except the reader (i.e., the author of the text itself, the people in the accounts, and perhaps even the...
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