I didn’t win the Super Bowl or the World Series, but I will still scream out to the blog community that tomorrow I’m goin’ to Disneyland tomorrow until Thursday! My parents are taking all of us to celebrate in the happiest place on earth. Our kids have never been, and are really, REALLY excited!
I’ll be [...]

Posted in NFC, bible/theology, family 7 Comments »

I know I’ve been away awhile, and that I really should explain myself and write a big, wonderful, moving post. But I’m not going to.
I’m thinking a lot about John 14, which we’ll be looking at next Sunday in worship. Jesus’ words are absolutely shocking: “The truth is, anyone who believes in me will [...]

Posted in NFC, bible/theology 3 Comments »

Here’s a link to what I shared last week from John 11. Thanks to you who provided food for thought!
I want to invite people again to give feedback to help with preparing for this coming Sunday. John 12 is the chapter we are all reading together at NFC, and I’m focusing on verses 17-36. I [...]

Posted in NFC, bible/theology, worship & messages No Comments »

I wrote awhile back that I wanted to get input from people before I preach, so that others can help shape what is shared on Sunday mornings. I haven’t forgotten…this coming Sunday will be the first time I’m sharing the message since I wrote the previous piece. So I’d like to invite you to prayerfully [...]

Posted in NFC, bible/theology, worship & messages 4 Comments »

I can be an obsessive person. After all kinds of input at this conference, more prolific blogging and journaling than I’ve had in forever, I found myself at the Hartford airport pulling out Doug Pagitt’s book, Preaching Re-imagined. Kathy looked at me and said, “You’re putting MORE stuff in your head? Aren’t you on overload [...]

Posted in bible/theology, books, church thoughts, quaker 12 Comments »

Miroslav spoke today about his latest book, “Free of Charge : Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace” (and follow Corey’s example, listen to me, and read this book). As so many have said, it is so important what and how we think about God. It’s the stripped down versions of faith, he [...]

Posted in bible/theology, church thoughts, volf conversation 1 Comment »

Last night I suggested that maybe Quakers have something to offer to the conversation about the real presence of God in our midst. We had a chance to write down questions to ask Miroslav today, and mine got asked: Is there space for us to relate with God, on a deeper level than just entering [...]

Posted in bible/theology, church thoughts, quaker, volf conversation 4 Comments »

It’s been so great to hear AJ and Kathy and Steve say how much they appreciate Volf and love his spirit and his mind. I’m being reminded again how influential he’s been on my life, how much my classes with him, how chatting over coffee after class, how his books have shaped me.
I think I’ve [...]

Posted in bible/theology, church thoughts, quaker, volf conversation 8 Comments »

Is it the pastor’s responsibility to provoke? Are we supposed to challenge, prick, prod, and push people into places of discomfort in their spiritual lives?
Miroslav basically answered this as a “yes,” but I loved how he qualified that. “What do I do,” he said, “when I’ve written this book Exclusion and Embrace…and I find some [...]

Posted in bible/theology, church thoughts, volf conversation No Comments »

(LOTS of stuff today. I’ll try breaking into little pieces in separate posts.)
One of the major points Miroslav makes in Exclusion and Embrace is this–God demonstrated profound love to human beings through Jesus’ death. As the Apostle Paul said, “while we were still enemies, Christ died for us.” Because of this, we too, as followers [...]

Posted in bible/theology, church thoughts, quaker, volf conversation 1 Comment »