Lauren came over yesterday evening to help me with bedtime for the boys while Doug ran Mercy to our pediatrician’s office with a suspected ear infection (this was the first time that Mercy informed us of an ear-ache BEFORE 2am so we were grateful). Lauren was getting ready to run to the corner store with… Continue reading Wonder in the Hood
Category: Culture
Can you hear me now?
This past Sunday I was a guest preacher at a church in Simi Valley which is something I actually enjoy doing. I was nervous about the length of my sermon (sermons at our church are at least forty-five minutes) and did end up cutting quite a bit from what I had planned to say. My… Continue reading Can you hear me now?
There are children here
The other day I was checking the Homicide Blog when I noticed the banner at the top of the page showed a happy couple enjoying a beautiful sunset in an ad for the Ritz Carlton. What a crazy juxtaposition. Things have been fairly quiet lately in our neighborhood, though some areas immediately surrounding us have… Continue reading There are children here
Friends
Eugene Cho posted a link to a Relevant Magazine article on materialism where seven Christian leaders respond to the question of how to follow Jesus in an age that worships mammon. Shane Claiborne’s response struck a chord with my own experience of who I care about and why: What is enough is defined by our… Continue reading Friends
Check, please
I recently attended a fundraising workshop sponsored by Mission Increase Foundation (an excellent organization committed to helping Christian non-profits build capacity), and the topic was how organizations manage information surrounding donors and their gifts. Our facilitator, Matt Bates, told a story about a large rescue mission that regularly received hundreds of gifts daily from donors… Continue reading Check, please
Missional: To die and to live
“The crucifixion was the consequence of the incarnation.†And so it can also be said that the resurrection was the consequence of the crucifixion (thank you, Patrick), and that too is a necessary theme of “missional” we do well to explore. Moving from death to life: when I considered how to describe the ways that… Continue reading Missional: To die and to live
Missional: To dwell and to die
I took a great course at Fuller Seminary that explored the significance of the cross in the New Testament. In one of the final lectures for the course, our professor summed up how she has come to understand the death of Jesus: “The crucifixion was the consequence of the incarnation.” If there is one element… Continue reading Missional: To dwell and to die
Sign of the times
Today my kids ate PB&J’s on cheap, nutrition-less white bread for the first time ever. We had run out of bread and I was watching my friend’s daughter for the day so I called Lauren and asked if she could help me out with some bread. She brought over her loaf of white “Bimbo” brand… Continue reading Sign of the times
Making soup
I recently came across the work of a man named Gerry Straub, a former Hollywood producer who, following a conversion experience in Rome, has devoted his time and his treasure to “put the power of film at the service of the poor.” Having exhausted his personal savings, he writes this about how he finances his… Continue reading Making soup
Thirteen
Thirteen people were murdered this weekend in Los Angeles (the L.A. Times offers details on eleven of the slayings). We have all noticed an increase in activity lately in our neighborhood: sirens, screaming, the pounding of helicopters that hardly ceases…”Do you know what was going on last night?” is a common question between neighbors. Meanwhile… Continue reading Thirteen