“Stop helping God across the road like a little old lady.” -lyric from U2’s song “Stand Up Comedy” Over the last year, as I discontinued church planting efforts and stepped back into full-time work as a finish carpenter and contractor, I’ve had Bono’s words above echo in my mind almost daily. Yes, we sometimes participate with God as his hands … Read More
Eagle Powers for Christmas?
“But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12-13, NRSVUE) We know well that worship is at the center of the Christian celebration of Christmas. As … Read More
Getting Involved in Spiritual Transformation, Part 1 of 4
“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers.” Psalm 1:1, ESV In his final book As Kingfishers Catch Fire, Eugene Peterson pointed out that “Psalm 1 stands before the whole Psalter as a kind of prologue. It was likely written last. … Read More
The Stupid Religious Reason I Missed Star Wars
Christians have a strange proclivity to fashion Jesus’ teaching on the narrow way into a joyless pursuit that devalues creation and makes the world he created very small. Let me explain. I chewed a lot of gum that year. I was collecting trading cards for the movie that everyone was talking about—a movie that promised to be one of the … Read More