Martin Luther went through a process of religious deconstruction. The system he was deeply committed to began falling apart for him FROM THE INSIDE, and so he sought a better way--and not without criticism from those committed to defending the system. Deconstruction...
Don’t let me ever think, dear God, that I was anything but the instrument for Your story—just like the typewriter was mine. from A Prayer Journal
If your story hasn’t had a happy ending, it hasn’t ended. Don’t project today’s pain into the future. Life can and often does change in an instant. Hold onto Hope. That is your lifeline and that is enough. That is the grace walk experience.
In the late 1930s-1940s, Michael Bond, author of Paddington Bear, saw Jewish refugee children (Kindertransport children) walking through London's Reading Station, arriving in Britain escaping from the Nazi horrors of Europe. Mr. Bond, touched by what he saw, recalled...
What is the cost of lies? It's not that we'll mistake them for the truth. The real danger is that if we hear enough lies, then we no longer recognize the truth at all. What can we do then? What else is left but to abandon even the hope of truth and content ourselves...
When we tell stories that start with a sudden beginning and jump to an ending that only God could write, we skip over a crucial part of the story: the middle. The place where we wait. Where we sit in silence. Where we have no answers. Where our hearts ache and we...
When I was in my late teens, I wanted to be a preacher. When I was in my late twenties, I wanted to be a good preacher. Now that I am older, I want more than anything else to be a Christian. To live simply, to love generously, to speak truthfully, to serve faithfully,...
The story goes that a public sinner was excommunicated and forbidden entry to the church. He took his woes to God. "They won't let me in, Lord, because I am a sinner." "What are you complaining about?" said God. "They won't let me in either."
My assumption is that the story of any one of us is in some measure the story of us all.
Angel, a Jew, owner of the most famous bakery in Germany, often said: "Do you know why I'm alive today? I was still a teenager when Nazis in Germany killed Jews mercilessly. Nazis took us to Auschwitz by train. Last night in the ward was deadly cold. We were left for...