I feel most at peace and at home when I am in the hills. There is childlike joy that leaps inside me when I walk a mountain trail, awaiting the mystery that lies behind each bend. When someone tells me they “get more” from a day on the lake than a day in church, I […]
Controversial opinion: I think Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are a bad idea. Of course it is good to honor our father and our mother. But this should be done on a regular and active basis, not forced into a particular day that probably does more to serve commercial interests than it does to serve […]
“The Bible is clear.” This is a statement I hear on a fairly regular basis. On its own, I do not find the statement inherently problematic. There is much that is “clear” about what scripture teaches. Love God. Love people. “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” One would have […]
“The crowd is untruth.” – Søren Kierkegaard “Early in the morning, well before sunrise, Jesus rose and went to a deserted place where he could be alone in prayer. Simon and those with him tracked him down. When they found him, they told him, ‘Everyone’s looking for you!’He replied, ‘Let’s head in the other direction, […]
Why did he let me go awaybeyond the sea and failing skyto places cold and deep to stayand wait upon his graceful eye? You let me go and then refusedto let me get away from you.You let me run and watched, amused —as if you knew…as if you knew the sea and distant country too.This […]
and now we fall into this grasp of cold – of white and black, and never ending night.It’s here again, but so am I. So boldto face the winter’s snow, to win the fight. Ever since I moved to the northwest I have dealt with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). I grew up in a much warmer […]
Music can be sanctifying. It can be a tool of the Holy Spirit to form the image of Christ in us. Music is a means of grace. Last year I began a tradition of forming a short playlist as a way of reflecting on the year. What have I learned? Where have I seen God? […]
The promises of God are often sold –Forsaken for a bowl of lentil stewOr for a flag of red and white and blue.But there it sits, with time collecting mold. “If hope be hope it must continue to burn after it has put out every false hope.”Karl Barth One of the biggest mistakes Christians in […]
As we near another presidential election, I find that my primary concern is not how this election will impact the country but how it will impact the Church of Jesus Christ. Of course, as a resident of the United States of America, I have concerns about our leadership, the economy, foreign policy, and so on. […]
The Local Pastor 