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The Challenge of the Coin
There is nothing worse than recommending someone not come to your church. It pains me to say it, then and now. A young seeker, looking to reconnect with church wanted to talk. We knew each other from previous work, so it was a different kind of awkward. It wasn’t the usual talking-to-strangers kind. She was…
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You’re so not vain enough – you don’t think this story is about you
The “lost” parables reveal a strange truth about Jesus and a blind spot for many Christians. For as much as we want Jesus to treat everyone the same, He doesn’t. And in the Parable of the Lost Sheep, Jesus contrasts the sinners with the righteous. He argues that the sinner who is redeemed brings GOD…
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They Came Closer
I love and hate the good parables. The really good ones. The ones that have so many ways in. The ones that give you so many things to say. Like the one from Sunday. I still dwell on them for days afterward. I have trouble moving on. Maybe I haven’t been preaching long enough to…
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Let’s get this party started
a homily for Proper 19C Text: Luke 15:1-10 In or Out? There are a million different ways to enter into this gospel. It is a familiar enough one that some of our long-tenured members are likely to have heard them all. The favorite approach is this one: these are two of the three “lost” parables:…
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6 ways to get better at leaving work for vacation
I am really bad at vacation. It isn’t fun for me to take. I have trouble leaving work behind. There are several reasons for this. I enjoy my work. My work is spiritually and intellectually challenging and I get a lot out of it. I also feel that there is always more to do. And…
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Why I’m Lousy at Vacation
This is what I discovered this summer. I really am lousy at vacation. I knew I was bad at it. I just didn’t know I was this bad. I don’t like the time away. I don’t like the extra burden before I go and after I return. I have trouble disconnecting my brain from my…
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To Choose
a homily for Proper 18C Text: Luke 14:25-33 Listen and read along! The Choice This might shock you, but when pastors get together, we talk about you. Not you in the particular. We talk about congregations and what we hear each Sunday as we shake hands. This is often the only time we get feedback…
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Please protect my kid!
Like many parents of Kindergartners, we walked our daughter to school for her very first day. Unlike most of the parents around us, we were scared of the thousands of little interactions: the other students, the teachers, the staff. Anyone of them could kill her. And when we left her there, we weren’t confident that…
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