Category: Practical Theology
-
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…
-
Give War a Chance: Prelude
Read more: Give War a Chance: PreludeToday I will be attending a conference on the topic of Just War at the University of St Andrews. Information can be found here: https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/divinity/rt/conf/givewar/ I will be blogging in more detail about the conference in two weeks time, but I wanted to get down a few of my thoughts before attending that will hopefully…
-
“Conference” Call
Read more: “Conference” CallJust a few weeks ago, I came home from what has been a mentally and spiritually emptying season of work. The last month had been one of those seasons filled with “pound-your-head-against-the-wall” experiences, the struggle of dealing with apathy amongst your team, and numerous examples where the harder you try, the more things fall apart….
-
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…
-
Mind-Blowing Monks at a Benedictine Monastery
Read more: Mind-Blowing Monks at a Benedictine MonasteryGrowing up in a Filipino-American conservative Protestant church, and having parents who converted from Roman Catholicism (the prevalent religion in the Philippines) to “born-again” Christianity, I was well aware of the ways we disagreed with Roman Catholics – how our faith was about grace, and how their faith was about works. It was an “us”…
-
Teaching Galatians in India
Read more: Teaching Galatians in IndiaDuring my spring break I was able to go on a trip to India with my officemate Chris Brewer and his dad Gary. We began our trip in Imphal, which is the capital of the state of Manipur in the northeast (we weren’t far from the border of Burma). When we arrived it happened to…
-
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…
-
The Parable of the Lost Check
Read more: The Parable of the Lost Check“Suppose a woman has just received her family’s income tax refund checks, one state and the other federal, in the mail and she loses one. (She swears seeing it on the coffee table yesterday and cannot for the life of her find it today.) Won’t she and her husband turn on all of the lights…
-
Believe! From The Lego Movie and John 3:16
Read more: Believe! From The Lego Movie and John 3:16“It may seem like a Cat Poster, but you must believe,” is one of my favorite quotes in The Lego Movie. In a crisis moment where the protagonist, Emmet, doesn’t know what to do and feels hopeless, his mentor, Vitruvius, tells him to believe, even though it may seem like a cliche from a Cat…
-
If Only…
Read more: If Only…I’ve always thought of Lust as only having to do with sex. It was always held up for me as the opposite of purity, chastity, virginity. When I think about it now, I realize that this narrow definition has actually become quite a convenient for me as a 21st Century American Christian. In limiting the…