Last Sunday, Julie and I had lunch at Grand Street Cafe. We were there for a nice meal before heading over to the Country Club Plaza to enjoy the art fair. We got into a conversation with our waiter about our church. He asked, “Where is it?” I said, “It is the Read More...
Recently I had one of those weeks when it felt like there were no moments to pause, take a breath and enjoy the day. Meetings followed meetings. Messages and emails piled up in my inbox. Calls needed to be made, notes reviewed, and more meetings conducted. By the end of the week Read More...
Five hundred years before the time of Christ a Hebrew poet wrote:Enter God’s gates with thanksgiving, and God’s courts with praise. For the Lord is good; God’s steadfast love endures forever, and God’s faithfulness to all generations I thought of these verses from Psalm 100 this morning as I walked around our Read More...
William Willimon, the former chaplain at Duke, says that the true test of prayer is not the style or the movement or the meaning; it is ethics. He says that “the test for what we do here from eleven to noon is what we do out there Monday through Saturday.” Sometimes I Read More...
Telling the truth to God is not as easy it might sound, especially when it comes to prayer. I’ve given and heard many prayers over the years; at the Communion Table, in hospital rooms, at meals, in Sunday school classes, at weddings and funerals, even at football games. Many times the content Read More...
When All You’ve Ever Wanted Isn’t Enough by Dr. R. Glen Miles Have you found that experiencing your dream come true isn’t always the best thing? Oscar Wilde is supposed to have written, “In life, there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting Read More...
Richard Rohr says, “If you are not ready to change, don’t seek out God.” Spiritual growth means that something must change. And if you’re like me, you may be more inclined to keep everything the same in order to avoid any change. We need to be gentle with ourselves though. Life Read More...
There have been times in my life when I wanted to know exactly what God wanted me to do, where to go, which job to take, even silly little things like “should I buy this TV or the other one?” Those decisions would be a lot easier if God would just tell Read More...
Peter, writing to the church two thousand years ago, instructs, “Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything” (1 Peter 4:8, The Message). Have you ever noticed how strong love is when things are tough, when your life really does Read More...
I preach grace. And when I am done preaching on grace I usually preach another sermon on grace! Preaching grace is easy. Living grace is hard. The alternative to grace, judgment, is just as easy to preach and it is a lot easier to live, too. Most of us have an inner Read More...
Brennan Manning was an evangelist and a writer. He continuously challenged churches to practice the love and grace of Jesus in their ministry. He used a story from Stephen Covey to make his point. Covey was riding the subway in New York City. There were very few passengers. Most were reading or Read More...
This weekend we begin a journey, one that will take us to a parade, an upper room, a cross and finally an empty tomb. It is a strange and wonderful time. I’ve been through it at least 55 times in my life, yet I am always surprised by the overwhelming ugliness and Read More...
Jesus said, “Whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door.” If Jesus had been a friend of Shakespeare’s he might have said, “No William, the world is not a stage.” Jesus’ instructions on living the spiritual life are very clear: Beware of practicing your piety in front of others. Read More...
Julie and I love to shop the outlet stores at the Legends Mall in Kansas City, KS. You can find some great deals but many of the clothes you buy come with a little tag on the inside that reads: Slightly Flawed Purchase As Is. What is true in those discount Read More...
Last Sunday night my wife, Julie, and I hosted a dinner party for our clergy small group. We served grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. Yes, we did. When I was growing up grilled cheese and tomato soup were Sunday night standards in my house. We’d go to youth groups and the Read More...
