I Found a Key Today that had Disappeared a Long Time Ago
This Easter Day reflection looks at the satisfaction of finding a lost key as a hint of the hope that came when the original disciples realized that Jesus was not dead.
The Lightning Strike of Easter
When lightning strikes nearby there is a deafening bang and flash. Atmospheric chemists tell us that lightning produces ozone and other chemicals that give a fresh air kind of smell. Lightning also discharges the positive charge that has built up on the ground. When God the Father brought Jesus back to life, it was like …
What Might Jesus Say about Buying a Gun?
In the scuffle of Jesus’ arrest in Gethsemane, there appears, in one of the disciples’ hands, a sword. Did the disciples carry swords? We wrack our brains. If it was a Passover meal that Jesus and his disciples had just concluded, packing weapons would have been forbidden by Jewish standards. Weapon carrying was neither …
How to Create a Committee Meeting Devotion in 30 Minutes
I’ve written this post for everyone who has agonized over the task of leading a committee in its opening devotion. I’ve watched church members perform this task hundreds of times. We all feel that our tank of inspiration is close to empty when it’s our turn to lead the group’s opening devotion. It’s a scary …
How One Church Found a Mission that Mattered
The electronic doorbell sounds next to the church Office Manager’s desk. She sighs in exasperation. It’s Friday. They always show up on Friday. Sunday’s worship bulletin hasn’t started to slide out of the copy machine. The Office Manager can see through the front door’s glass window a petite woman standing outside. She’s the third stranger …
A Tribute to Billy Graham
The first time I heard Billy Graham’s voice I was buried under bed covers, long after I should have been asleep, straining to hear through the earphone of my toy space radio. I had attended Sunday school for a couple of years in those days at the end of the 1950’s. My family didn’t belong …
A Christian Assessment of Saul Alinsky
Following Brett Kavanaugh’s rise to the Supreme Court, many Americans are frustrated with the struggle to build a better society and to keep America from sliding into rampant injustice and inequality. Saul Alinsky, the inventor of community organizing, possessed many tools to pressure elites and win positive change. Here’s a Christian-oriented view of his work.
10 Simple Ways to Enrich Your Time Alone with God
Our true religion is what we do with our solitude. Churches tend to emphasize the activities of discipleship that take place in the fellowship of believers–common worship, mission, looking after one another, and religious education. Once we’re out of the church building and by ourselves, there is often not much from Church that we can …
