I fell. Hard. I mean that literally, and I need you to understand the full picture here. It was during the World Baseball Classic (because I'm ridiculous about baseball). I ran to the bedroom between innings to change into my comfy pants, a completely reasonable and important errand (don't judge). And while I was at it, I noticed my sock wasn't sitting right. So I raised my leg to straighten it. One moment I was a functional adult managing a minor wardrobe situation, and the next I was...
8 days ago • 2 min read
This week I found myself thinking about two conversations I had with colleagues. The first was with a pastor who serves a large congregation. His church has resources, programs, and plenty of people. Yet he was discouraged because, in his words, they didn’t have enough people to do the meaningful ministry he imagined for their community. Later, I spoke with another pastor whose congregation is quite small and considerably older. By many modern church metrics, they would not look particularly...
15 days ago • 2 min read
This week I have been thinking about the kind of peace followers of Christ are called to carry within themselves. In a world where nations go to war, what does it mean for people of faith to live as people of peace? Christians have wrestled with that question for centuries. Some traditions, building on the work of St. Augustine, developed what came to be known as just war theory, seeking ways to limit violence and hold governments accountable. Other traditions, including the historic peace...
22 days ago • 2 min read
This week I have been living inside big ideas. Working on materials and gathering ideas and notes for sermons for Lent, Easter, and beyond, I've taken deep dives into Covenants (Lenten series) Resurrection (Easter and the weeks following) and Pentecost. I've contemplated steadfast love, Empire and power, and theological expansion. And somewhere in the middle of all that studying, I felt it. The stretch. Not intellectual stretch. That part's fun. The deeper one. The one that quietly asks, “If...
29 days ago • 2 min read
“From dust we come, and to dust we return.” I have said those words more times than I can count. Year after year, I dip my fingertip into the ashes and trace the shape of a cross onto waiting foreheads. The words are ancient and honest, reminding us of the limits of our mortality, intending to evoke a response to move toward God's healing love. But this year, something unexpected happened. As the first person stepped forward, I dipped my finger into the ash and I opened my mouth to speak the...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Slowly, tentatively, I pulled the piece from the tower. Relief washed over me as I gingerly placed the piece I had just removed on the top of the fragile tower and released the breath I didn't realize I was holding. It was a fun game with some friends that had gotten super serious as we reached the point where the tower’s collapse was inevitable. The room grew quiet. Everyone leaned in. Each turn required patience, steady hands, and just the right amount of pressure. One wrong move, one piece...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
"I don't wanna!" I thought, resisting the urge to stamp my feet. Sometimes I really resent the things I preach when the time arises for practicing them. Nobody else was around, no one would know. I could respond to this person the way I really wanted to respond. Proof of their idiocy and meanness was readily apparent, and I would really enjoy removing that smug expression trying to dismiss me. Instead, I summoned my better angels, took a deep breath, and asked a curious question. Within a few...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
This year in worship, we are doing something different. We are slowing down and pulling back the curtain on how the Bible came to be and how it holds together as a living story of faith. Through eight sermon series, each with weekly handouts, we are building a shared resource; a binder for each family with tools to engage scripture more deeply, paying attention to context, genre, and the unfolding journey of the biblical story. This week, I’ve been working through the Covenants series of our...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
This week I found myself in a standoff with a printer. It refused to join the WiFi network, and I was determined to make it comply. I followed troubleshooting steps, watched videos, clicked links, unplugged and restarted, downloaded apps, changed and reset settings, and before I knew it, I was deep in a tech rabbit hole that felt urgent and consuming. At some point, I noticed how tense I had become. My shoulders were tight, lifted almost to my ears. My jaw was clenched. My patience was gone....
2 months ago • 2 min read