I only grew to love prayer once I expanded my definition of prayer. Growing up in the church the definition for prayer that I was given was “Talking to God”. “Just talk to God,” I was often told. This understanding of prayer is not wholly wrong, but it is unhelpful. One can define the ocean […]
I have been practicing Sabbath for almost ten years now but I might just now be learning what it means to take a Sabbath. Shortly after Amanda and I were married and began pastoring in Vale, Oregon, we went on a retreat designed for those in the process of ordination. One of the workshops was […]
“So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart.” – Psalm 90:12, NRSV The Latin phrase memento mori means: remember, you will die. In medieval times, the saints would use this phrase as a critique against the vanities of the culture. When we remember our mortality we begin to realize […]
“Jesus reached for a little child, placed him among the Twelve, and embraced him. Then he said, ‘Whoever welcomes one of these children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me isn’t actually welcoming me but rather the one who sent me’” (Mark 9:36-37, CEB). Sometimes I wonder if I have what it takes […]
Grace. The other day I was trying to make a left turn onto a busy road. A car stopped to give me space to merge. It was an undeserved gift. The driver did not have to offer me this space. It ensured they would get to their destination later than they would have otherwise. This […]
Patience is notorious for being a difficult virtue to master. It is said that what is needed to attain patience is the opportunity to practice patience. However these opportunities for patience are also opportunities for impatience. If, as an impatient person, I find myself in a situation that requires me to wait longer than I […]
The world is filled with distractions. If I want to cultivate the fruit of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control – then inevitably distractions will arise that make attaining such virtues seemingly impossible. It is my desire to become a person who radiates the aroma of Christ, […]
My go-to advice on prayer is “pray as you can, not as you can’t”. I did not come up with this and I have never been able to discover who said it originally. If someone has found a form of prayer that “works” then I would never want to discourage them. God hears and receives […]
The Local Pastor 