“For where two or three are gathered in my name, I’m there with them” Matthew 18:20 (CEB). Few of us believe this anymore. Many of us will say we believe it. Jesus said it so of course we confess it to be true. But the reality is that few in the western world believe these […]
There are two sticky notes I keep posted on my desk that I am sure to notice and read at least once a week. The first says, “You know that you are not the best of pastors, but you are the best your congregation has now.” The second: “When you don’t believe in yourself – […]
These past couple of weeks I have been watching rug cleaning videos on youtube.1 I understand this may sound like watching videos of paint drying! Why sit and watch a twenty minute video of someone cleaning a rug? Yet the experience is surprisingly satisfying. The rug cleaner begins by unrolling the rug. We see all […]
“Out of the mouths of babes and infantsyou have founded a bulwark because of your foesto silence the enemy and the avenger.” Psalm 8:2 It is difficult to watch a movie with young children. Friday night is movie night in our house. This last week we watched Candleshoe (a good little movie that I had […]
“Daddy, will you forgive me?” These words from my four year old daughter were unexpected. Not thirty seconds earlier, her eyes shot daggers at me when I walked into her room. The last thing I expected was an apology. It had been a difficult evening. I could blame it on all the Halloween candy. Or […]
Over these past few weeks I have been preaching on Lazarus from John 11 and 12. After sitting in Lazarus’ company these past few weeks, I have come to believe that it is likely that Lazarus had a mental disability. Granted, we do not possess enough data to arrive at any kind of certainty. If […]
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 […]
A couple of weeks ago I waded into Idaho’s Salmon River to do a little trout fishing. I was told it was a well known spot and sure enough there were a couple groups already fishing and having some success. I made my way downstream of the second group, leaving about 100 feet or so […]
In this episode, Andrew and I get to talk with Curt and Kathleen McFarland from The Grace of Christ church in Yakima Washington. Curt talks about his ministry journey and something that struck me was when he talked about his chaplaincy experience. He described chaplaincy as non-imposing, simply listening and caring. In the hospital, when […]
The Local Pastor 