"Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.” Jeremiah 6:16 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from… Continue reading An invitation to the good way
January 1 - an entire shiny new year lying ahead, 365 calendar squares of unmarked living. It screams of so much potential. Who knows what might happen in those days? What sort of life may unfold? Who might you become in this year? And to give voice to that deep desire for change, this time… Continue reading Ditch the resolutions for a rule
That's no happy face there - it's the current yellow badge, or Judenstern, of Iraq. The N', or ن in Arabic, is the symbol used by the Islamic State (ISIS) to identify who is a Nazarene - a Christian. It has been drawn on doorways and painted on house-fronts in captured Iraqi cities, allowing ISIS militia to… Continue reading We are N
A few weeks ago Pope Frances canonized two pontifical predecessors, Paul XXIII and John-Paul II. In my last post on Saints, I looked at the fairly chronic aversion to saints and yet explored the warm biblical use of the term and concept of saints. Ok, so what now? How then might saints function in the Christian… Continue reading Saints? for sure (part 2)
I love folk music; ergo I love folk music festivals. Nothing sings summer like lounging on a lawn and taking in fabulous music. For years, the Calgary Folk Music Festival was my late July summer staple. It's a unique musical event that wonderfully stretches the term "folk" (where do you get to hear Yiddish hip-hop,… Continue reading On Folk Festivals
Entering into a new place and finding my way into a new community is providing an instant refresher course on the in’s-and-out’s of forming and living in community. You’d think I’d have learned this by now and so it feels a little like remedial breathing lessons. Call it “Belonging 101.” Probably better titled “How I… Continue reading The Perfect Space
Today is the greatest wall flower Christian celebration of all time and yet one of the most powerfully hopeful days - Ascension Day (admit it, you missed it, didn’t you?). I love this day for all sorts of reasons: it is the culmination of Christ’s ministry, it is the next stage of God’s mission, and… Continue reading On wallflowers and kite-flying
In the last post, I observed what I’m seeing as a changing worship pattern - twice a month as the new normal. While these trends in worship patterns are interesting data to observe, the more important question is about how we practice Sabbath. The changing worship patterns are, in some measure, a reaction to the… Continue reading The new normal and Sabbath keeping: practicing 24/6
In my tradition, twice was the norm. Growing up in the Christian Reformed Church, attending church twice every Sunday was a non-negotiable, a near creational given. "Oncers" were deemed on a slippery slope to perdition, an accommodation to the ease of culture and all its entertainments (and how I desperately wanted to be a oncer… Continue reading Twice (a month) – the new normal?
Calling all singles of faith, in the church or perhaps checked out of the church. Can you help me sort out a few things? I've been thinking about life as a single person in a community of faith, and then wondering about the role and reality of marriage for today's single. Here's why I'm thinking… Continue reading Singles, marriage and a match made in church?
Squinch 