Jul 7, 2014 | books, Monday Muse
“Mary Poppins,” Jane said, looking very hard at her, “were you at the Zoo last night?” “Certainly not — the idea!” said Mary Poppins. “And I’ll thank you to eat up your porridge and no nonsense.” The delight...
Jun 30, 2014 | books, Monday Muse, scripture
God made people, because God loves stories. (The Talmud) So quotes Leila Berg as she begins the delightful storytelling of major and lesser-known and only-rumored Old Testament stories in The God Stories (Francis Lincoln Publishers 1999). She wants us to hear the...
Jun 23, 2014 | books, Monday Muse, sermon
It is an ecclesial crime to preach a thoughtless and irrelevant sermon. (65) So premises Gregory M. Howard, editor of the newly-released Voices Crying Out in the Wilderness: Contemporary Theologies of Preaching (BorderStone Press 2014). It is the first book on my...
Jun 16, 2014 | church, Monday Muse, news
On Friday, Christianity Today’s Leadership Journal gave a platform to an imprisoned former youth pastor who had emotionally and sexually abused an adolescent girl in his care, by publishing his anonymous article “From Youth Minister to Felon.” Also...
Jun 9, 2014 | church, Monday Muse
In my neighborhood, a handful of churches faithfully announce their pastors’ weekly sermon titles on outdoor signs. These are mainline Protestant churches (names obscured to protect the innocent, lol), and their sermon titles are generally fine —...
Jun 2, 2014 | Advent, Christmas, Easter, Epiphany, Lent, Monday Muse, Pentecost
Yesterday, on June 1, my soul gasped and took a breath of fresh air. On June 1, I remembered that life is full of possibility and hope for renewal. On June 1, I knew that I could revel in joy with every minute of the day. Why? Because June 1 — and not only June...
