Kent Anderson posted some great thoughts this week on the temptation many of us struggle with which he calls “the arrogance of the present.” He comments on the ways that authors and speakers and leaders often speak to and about the church with a great amount of condemnation for how things have looked and been… Continue reading Mere humility
Category: Church
My 30 live-in nannies
Yesterday Doug and I went to our OB, and I was really hoping that she would tell us that my bed-rest restriction was over and I could resume some level of activity. That was not the news we received. Instead, we came home with two more weeks, minimum, of continued bed-rest prescribed. We also asked… Continue reading My 30 live-in nannies
Come let us worship
“The First Testament does not assume that human beings in general, or the people of God in particular, know by intuition how to worship, or that they bring to God the best they can devise or the expressions that form in their own hearts. God lays down what counts as proper worship.” (From John Goldingay’s… Continue reading Come let us worship
Surprised
As I find myself once again in a position of requiring a lot of help from a lot of different people, I was struck by something the other day. I realized that, when tragedy or hardship strikes, there are those you assume will be the first to be by your side; those who will most… Continue reading Surprised
Listening
Yesterday I was reading a woman’s account of her experience in a primarily Anglo Christian ministry in college. She is Mexican-American, and I appreciated her tender honesty concerning how she was made to feel by what I imagine were the very sincere attempts made by one group of people at loving and embracing another. Reading… Continue reading Listening
A reminder
Last night we gathered at the tutoring center for our evening session together after a long day of painting houses and loving kids. Our pastor had invited members of our youth group to join us for the evening, and after he introduced them all, he invited them to answer some questions and share a bit… Continue reading A reminder
Always with us
In discussions regarding economics, poverty and the like, people will call upon the words of Jesus that proclaim that the poor will always be among us. Many people have a sense that, well, inequality is just a result of the nature and function of social and economic systems, and they are certainly right. I have… Continue reading Always with us
He restores my soul
Yesterday was the kickoff for our “Vacation to L.A.” week with Pasadena Covenant Church. We started our day together with morning worship, and we were privileged to have Dr. Soong-Chan Rah and his family with us. Dr. Rah is a professor at North Park Seminary, and was a pastor of a multi-ethnic congregation in Cambridge,… Continue reading He restores my soul
Blessed are the feet
Today was our second day standing outside of Mack Elementary School handing out fliers and registering kids for the sports and art camps we are sponsoring next week. Although I didn’t have my two kids with me today (though they were awfully cute recruiters in their balloon-covered stroller yesterday), we still made for a surprising… Continue reading Blessed are the feet
Vacation with a purpose
Next Sunday, a group of children, youth and adults will come to our neighborhood to live in our homes for the week, paint the home of one of our church members and help prepare our tutoring center for a busy summer of ministry, and lead sports and art camps for children in our community. This… Continue reading Vacation with a purpose