I was looking forward to meeting a couple of my friends for lunch the other day. I rarely go out to lunch, but they asked and I love to be included, so off I went. It was nice to get out of the office. It was a beautiful, sunny day. I was listening to KLove radio and had the windows...
Once again, my blog post is slated on the heels of another high point in the church’s liturgical year and a high point in my own discontent. This time, we celebrated Passover with a Seder meal and I actually cried during the service. (Note that I say “actually...
Jesus, I am resting, resting, in the joy of what thou art,I am finding out the greatness of thy loving heart.- From “Jesus, I Am Resting,” by Jean Sophia Pigott (1876) Do you see? Do you see? All the people sinking down.Do you care? Do you care? Are you going to...
In 2006, when Amy and I were newly married, we moved to Malawi to serve with a relief agency. Before long, we got to know some in the local expatriate community, many of whom were Christian. One of the struggles we all faced in Malawi was finding a church community. One evening we...
“How was your weekend?” “G-g-g-good, Alex! I had a g-g-gr-reat weekend! I w-went to see a movie with my staf-f-f.” “Oh really? That must have been fun.” “It was, b-b-but I’m always a-a-afraid about being alon-ne, and I was afraid of...
It’s nighttime and the kids are asleep. I troll the Internet looking for inspiration. I come across a quote by theologian Albert Schweitzer: “At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude...
It’s been about half a year since a close friend of mine passed away. I cared about him dearly and the loss hit me hard. He was a special person in many ways, and his passing affected me greatly. I first met Bryant in 2005 when I was an InterVarsity student leader in college...
China is a place where things rise and fall overnight. In a country that has pulled itself up from its bootstraps in just a few decades, this pace of modernization has not been without cost. Last year I witnessed a sizable community garden rise up within twenty-four hours, as migrant...
The Western Wall in Jerusalem, also known as the Wailing Wall, is considered one of the holiest sites in Judaism. If there is ever a place to get your prayers answered, this is it. People have been praying at this ancient wall since the fourth century. They often write their prayers...
Last December, about forty people gathered in our sanctuary after services. There was no lunch, no set teaching, no guest speaker. It was a time to reflect and share thoughts about race relations following the acquittal of white police officers in the deaths of Michael Brown in...