Christ wrote a beautiful tune, which the church has often performed well, and often badly. But the melody was never completely drowned out. Sometimes it became a symphony. John Dickson, Bullies and Saints Dickson opens the book, Bullies and Saints: An Honest Look At The Good and Evil Of Christian History, with a story. HeContinue reading ““Bullies and Saints” – John Dickson”
Tag Archives: hope
Sabbatical Sit Down: David Sorn
David Sorn is the founding pastor of Renovation Church in Blaine MN, and he’s someone I’ve known for many years. Meeting with David was a little bit different for my sabbatical plans, as Renovation and River’s Edge Church have very little in common (I mean, apart from being missional churches centered on the Bible andContinue reading “Sabbatical Sit Down: David Sorn”
“Dominion” – Tom Holland
How was it that a cult inspired by the execution of an obscure criminal in a long-vanished empire came to exercise such transformative and enduring influence on the world?… Today, at a time of seismic geopolitical realignment, when our values are proving to be not nearly as universal as some of us had assumed themContinue reading ““Dominion” – Tom Holland”
Sabbatical Start
Here I am…on sabbatical. That’s a funny word. Make’s me feel fancy. So what is a sabbatical? Really, its just a break from my ordinary job to find some renewal, refreshment, and refocus. If you want to know some more of my thoughts and goals for my 4+ weeks of sabbatical, and you weren’t atContinue reading “Sabbatical Start”
For Tomorrow
Aren’t presidential elections fun! We should do this every year!!! Maybe not. Today – Tuesday, November 3rd – is election day. Tomorrow we’ll have results. Maybe not all of them, but some of them. We may or may not know who our next president is. We may or may not know which party controls congress.Continue reading “For Tomorrow”
Rewind: Dirty
This is one of my favorite past posts, originally written in 2011. I thought it was worth revisiting now. I hope it challenges you as much as it challenges me. Sometimes the way I read my Bible is a little delusional. Take, for example, the story of Hosea. I used to love that story. GodContinue reading “Rewind: Dirty”
Perkins on forgiveness and love
These are reflections of minister and civil rights activist John M Perkins, as he lay in bed recovering from injuries and ulcers in Mississippi, 1970. An excerpt from John M. Perkins book, “Let Justice Roll Down”. “The Spirit of God worked on me as I lay in that bed. An image formed in my mind.Continue reading “Perkins on forgiveness and love”
In honor of George Floyd
I could write a long list of reasons why I shouldn’t write anything on the turmoil we have seen in Minnesota and around the nation since the death of George Floyd, but the reality is that whatever the list would look like, it would be summed up with the line, “I’m afraid.” It’s a scaryContinue reading “In honor of George Floyd”
“You’ll Get Through This” – Max Lucado
You’ll get through this. It won’t be painless. It won’t be quick. But God will use this mess for good. In the meantime don’t be foolish or naïve. But don’t despair either. With God’s help you will get through this. Max Lucado, You’ll Get Through This Sometimes I’m not very good at being compassionate. ItContinue reading ““You’ll Get Through This” – Max Lucado”
Fear
Fear is a strange thing. Fear can come from a thing (a virus) or a lack of a thing (toilet paper?). It can because of knowledge (number of deaths from the virus) or lack of knowledge (when will there be toilet paper?). It can be something that we understand or it can be something weContinue reading “Fear”
Driven 