The church, if it is going to be the church God designed it to be, must become a space for the full story of God’s artistic grace — the story about where we were, where we are now, and where we will be someday. from A Fellowship of Differents: Showing the World God's...
Let’s make a habit of believing women who are called to ministry. Before we say: “She lacks discernment or has selfish ambition”, look at the fruit in her life. Allow her to be a credible witness to the outworking of the gospel in her own life story.
The beauty of Christian spirituality is that the God we are in relationship with is for us in Christ. Like the father in the prodigal son story, God is waiting with his eyes looking for us in the distance. He is waiting to embrace us. This image might take some...
As I was lying on a gurney in pre-op awaiting knee replacement surgery three days before Christmas, before the “happy drugs” were administered, I noticed a painting on the wall beside the gurney. It was rather nondescript, a field of blue flowers in a garden of rocks...
And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year, "Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown." And he replied: "Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way."
Sometimes you have to let go of the picture of what you thought life would be like and learn to find the joy in the story you are actually living.
A grandfather was walking through his yard when he heard his granddaughter repeating the alphabet in a tone of voice that sounded like a prayer. He asked her what she was doing. The little girl explained, "I'm praying, but I can't think of exactly the right words, so...
Christmas is a 12-day feast. It begins on the evening of December 24th and ends on the evening of January 5th, or Twelfth Night. Practice a deeper Christmas. Stay with the story of the human God. It means so much that God is one of us. The mystery is too great for one...
We are, as a species, addicted to story. Even when the body goes to sleep, the mind stays up all night, telling itself stories. from The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human
When our story is told a century from now--and it will be--how much of the American church ran after idols and delusions, false christs, and conspiracies? History will not only fault the pastors for not confronting us with the truth, but the congregations who forbade...