I am a pastor. My work has to do with God and souls--intense mysteries that no one has ever seen at any time....I don't want to end up a bureaucrat in the time-management business for God or a librarian cataloguing timeless truths. Salvation is kicking in the womb of...
There is a dignified nobility in humankindWe know it when we see itNurse tenderly caring for your loved one in the hospice house as she travels toward the great beyondPolitician choosing integrity, knowing full well he won't be elected againPastor remaining true to...
Many new friends have come into my life...Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, New Agers, and others—including lots of atheists and agnostics, too. One of the most dramatic of those friendships began in the aftermath of 9/11/2001. Like a lot of churches, our little...
Going to seminary is, I think, a lot like going to culinary school—you learn the basic foundations, some cool party tricks, and by the end you can prepare a gourmet meal. Pastoring, however, is waking up every day to a new episode of Chopped, where the ingredients are...
The trouble with pastors is we are called on to speak more often than we have anything to say.
I was fifteen years old when I felt called to preach. My home church pastor said that I should get as much experience as possible. Obviously, there was not a great demand for fifteen-year-old novices who were long on enthusiasm but short on skill. So, my pastor sent...
Churches have been commodified, commercialized, and marketized. Pastors become CEOs and the choirs become praise teams. That blood at the cross becomes Kool-Aid just to dip in order to get your next commodity-driven blessing."