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Your church will die, and other encouraging thoughts
Ecclesiastes is a hard book go through. It talks much about death. It does so because death is a reality that is hard to live with, but a reality, if embraced, that will make you wiser. A sampling: “For of the wise as of the fool there is no enduring remembrance, seeing that in theContinue reading “Your church will die, and other encouraging thoughts”
A desperate man in camel hair
John the Baptist was a lion of a man. He lived roughly, spoke passionately, and was killed because he wouldn’t compromise. But the most amazing part of his life was that his whole life revolved around making himself less and making much of Jesus. I named my son after him, and in the months leadingContinue reading “A desperate man in camel hair”
News, context, and anxiety
Most people know the feeling of being anxious. A big event is in the future, you don’t really know what is going to happen, and you feel a stress crawling up into the edges of all your thoughts. At its worst, the anxiety paralyzes you and you search for something to distract you from thinkingContinue reading “News, context, and anxiety”
By Balloon or by Car
“And the weakness of All Utopias is this, that they take the greatest difficulty of man and assume it to be overcome, and then give an elaborate account of the overcoming of the smaller ones. They first assume that no man will want more than his share, and then are very ingenious in explaining whetherContinue reading “By Balloon or by Car”
“Joker” and the uneasiness of criminal sympathy
Joker The 2019 Joker film was an interesting animal, but what I think was more interesting was the reaction to it. I think one of the reasons (and there are a few) that people were opposed to the film is that it painted Arthur Fleck (the man who became the Joker) in a sympathetic light.Continue reading ““Joker” and the uneasiness of criminal sympathy”
The Beauty and Danger of January
January January is definitely in the running for my favorite month. There are two reasons for this. First, I always feel I can start over. For me, it is a time of seeing what I did badly last year and making plans to change. Secondly, there is time to actually implement those changes. The calendarContinue reading “The Beauty and Danger of January”
My Favorite Books of 2020
The end of the year is a good time reflecting on what has shaped you, and few things have shaped me as profoundly as books. Here is a list of my top ten favorite books that I read (or listened to) in 2020. 1. The Abolition of Man – C.S. LewisIt is only someone likeContinue reading “My Favorite Books of 2020”
Defrost your heart
I have a love/hate relationship with large cuts of meat. I don’t like to keep raw meat in my fridge, because I always feel I’m on a timer before it goes bad. But, since I keep my fridge really (probably too) cold, It may take two or three days to thaw meat that I’ve pulledContinue reading “Defrost your heart”
Why fundamentalists do well in missional churches
I’ve noticed that people with fundamentalist backgrounds tend to do well in missional churches. Now I know “fundamentalist” is a broad term and “missional” is a broad term, but I need to say something, right? Fundamentalism Fundamentalism was a movement that grew in part as a reaction to theological liberalism. Fundamentalists were a group ofContinue reading “Why fundamentalists do well in missional churches”
The space between expectations and reality is called disappointment
Imagine Satan shows up before God and the council of angels and, just like the original story, wants to test Job. But in this particular permutation of the story, God says no. Don’t hurt his body, don’t hurt his children, don’t even hurt his livestock. So Satan pulls out plan B. “Can I lie toContinue reading “The space between expectations and reality is called disappointment”
Create Dissonance
A few things stuck with me from the general education classes I took in college. One of these was the idea of “cognitive dissonance.” In psychology, this is the idea of having two inconsistent thoughts, neither of which you want to give up. Having these contradictory ideas in your head at the same time causesContinue reading “Create Dissonance”
The command to like your neighbor
Francis Chan tells a story from when he was a young pastor. He was speaking to another, much older pastor who was telling Chan about the older pastor’s church’s Christmas play. The pastor said that they spent thousands of dollars and had hundreds of volunteers putting in 15 hours a week practicing. Then when ChristmasContinue reading “The command to like your neighbor”
What I would tell a 20-year-old me
In a little bit more than a month, I’ll be turning 30. I’m wrestling of the finality of the end of my 20’s. Looking on the last 10 years, I see some things I am really glad I did, some things that I really wish I had done, and the overwhelming grace of God inContinue reading “What I would tell a 20-year-old me”
Learn to Fall
“In other words,” [Bree] continued, “you can’t ride. That’s a drawback. I’ll have to teach you as we go along. If you can’t ride, can you fall?” “I suppose anyone can fall,” said Shasta.“I mean can you fall and get up again without crying and mount again and fall again and yet not be afraid ofContinue reading “Learn to Fall”
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