We Your People, Ours the Journey
a webspace devoted to sermons, thoughts and ramblings from the ministerial journey
"Who's There?" (January 22, 2012) Depending on who is calling us, we respond in different ways. Samuel initially doesn't respond to God's call because he doesn't know it's God doing the calling. In our time when perhaps "the Word of the Lord is rare," how do we recognized God's call for what it is, so… Continue reading Sermon: “Who’s There?”
I'm very excited about the iBooks 2 roll out with textbooks. I've been hoping for something like this since the Kindle came out. I see infinite implications for education, particularly. Wealthier districts are already providing each student with a laptop or netbook; it's get on the ball so each student in the country can have… Continue reading iLearning
"Water-Tossed" (Jan 15, 2012) Sea glass is formed when broken pieces of glass are tossed in the salty water of the ocean until, over time, what was once trash is transformed into a treasure. In the sacrament of baptism, we claim the presence of God's grace, like water in our lives, smoothing out our rough… Continue reading Sermon: Water-Tossed
I'm pleasantly surprised by the interest in my recent post in response to the "I hate Religion but Love Jesus" video. Thanks for reading, sharing, and commenting, and for linking to your own reflections. In the spirit of fairness and follow-up, Rachel Held Evans drew my attention to this email exchange between the video's creator,… Continue reading More on Jesus and Religion – links galore!
As we observe a day in celebration and thanksgiving of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I'm thinking about what it means to live in racial justice, and seek the sort of equality among people of all ethnicities that Rev. Dr. King dreamed of. I grew up in and have returned to live in… Continue reading Racial Justice in the Nation’s Second-Whitest State
A lot of folks on facebook have been posting links to this video, where political science graduate and non-profit worker Jefferson Bethke seeks to "highlight the difference between Jesus and false religion" (text of video description). Mr. Bethke is a self-proclaimed healed pornography addict, and attends the Federal Way campus of Mars Hill Church (dot… Continue reading I love Jesus, but I kinda like religion too
"The Thirteenth Day of Christmas" (Jan 8, 2012 - observing Epiphany) The Christmas season does not end on December 26, nor can it be contained to one place, one time, one people. Christmas-- and its message of God's presence with us, our hope and strength in the midst of the world's struggle-- is uncontrollable and… Continue reading Sermon: The Thirteenth Day of Christmas
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for my blog. How nice of them (and how interesting to read!). Here's an excerpt: The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 16,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it… Continue reading 2011 in review
It's that glorious time of year when United Methodist Churches hunt down, compile, and report their statistics for the year. For a growing number of us, this is now part of a larger system of reporting of statistics year round, designed to help us measure our churches' "Vital Signs" (part of the Vital Congregations program).… Continue reading Counting the Unaccountable
"Begin Again" (Jan 01, 2012) As the year turns over yet again, we have on opportunity to look back with celebration and with confession, and to look forward with commitment and prayer. How are we willing to commit ourselves to God this year? Sermon includes a call to confession and covenant, which is a totally… Continue reading Sermon: Begin Again
We Your People, Ours the Journey 