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Writing Scripture
Read more: Writing ScriptureThis last weekend, 11 freshman stood in front of our congregation, affirmed their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and expressed their intention to journey with our church through life, at least until they move away for college. As part of this moment, we anointed each student with oil and said, “Because you…
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Blood on my Hands
Read more: Blood on my HandsWhen I heard that we were receiving communion as a church staff, I was thankful. I needed it. I was wearied from two stressful weeks of constant ministry. Lots of counseling, lots of planning, lots of situations in which I had no idea what to do. I was tired. That morning, it had taken everything…
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Why I am (Mostly) Pacifist
Read more: Why I am (Mostly) PacifistI finally feel free to admit it. I am (mostly) pacifist – I say mostly because my beliefs and thoughts have’t been field tested yet. Before you think I’m crazy and buy me a plane ticket to Pennsylvania to live with the Amish, let me share a few of the reasons why I am pacifist…
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Switchfoot and Karl Barth
Read more: Switchfoot and Karl BarthSwitchfoot is one of my favorite bands of all time. Each of their albums is like meeting a new friend – at first, I’m not sure if we’re going to connect like I hoped we would, but over time my appreciation deepens to the point that my life is different because of our friendship. I…
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Power(less) Worship
Read more: Power(less) WorshipThe rain pelted the hoods of our jackets as we rushed under the shelter of the awning, standing alongside the others waiting to enter the sanctuary. We stepped through the doors and headed towards our normal pew section (we don’t want to sit in the same pew each week, but being people of habit, we…
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The Great Evangelical Divorce
Read more: The Great Evangelical DivorceAbout a month ago, I wrote a post giving reasons why I believe Christians should be good storytellers. After I had shared it on my Facebook wall, one of my close friends commented, in a joking manner, that I should have written the article as a story. While he was only making light of the…
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Why Ken Ham Lost the Debate
Read more: Why Ken Ham Lost the DebateAs you may well know, earlier this week Bill Nye (The Science Guy) and Ken Ham, president of Answers in Genesis and the Creation Museum, debated one another as to whether or not Ken Ham’s understanding of the world’s origin is viable (Ham is a literal 6 day, young earth creationist). If you haven’t watched…
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3 Reasons Why Christians Should Be Good Storytellers
Read more: 3 Reasons Why Christians Should Be Good StorytellersI’ve recently found myself surrounded by stories – I’ve been reading them, telling them, listening to them, and living them. It all started when I read East of Eden by John Steinbeck. I had heard that it was a good story, but I was entirely unprepared for its power. I found myself lingering over numerous sentences,…
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The Butthead Prayer
Read more: The Butthead PrayerThis past weekend, our youth ministry began a series exploring the ins and outs of worship. As a way to ease into the series, our middle schoolers (5th-8th) spent Sunday morning practicing prayer through the acronym PRAY (praise, repent, ask, yourself). The students progressed to different stations where they explored different Scriptures that related to…
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A Dinosaur and Baby Jesus
Read more: A Dinosaur and Baby JesusThis year, my wife and I had the pleasure of participating in the Christmas Eve services for the first time at our new church in Berkeley. We were originally planning on attending just one service, until one the pastors asked me if I was willing to be crowd control for the Family Service. I was…