missio dei
-
To Create Withness
•
3 min read
7. But in Jesus, we are given human responsibility to create withness with one another. The nature of God is withness. From the divine dance of the Holy Trinity to the very withness of Jesus, all of God’s glory is withness. What I mean by “withness” is presence–the eternal and constant being with someone. And this idea of…
-
Removing Our Stumbling Blocks
•
8 min read
In Matthew 17 and 18, Jesus reveals the way stumbling blocks get in the way of God’s mission. Including our obsessions with rules and borders. Proper 18A | Matthew 18:15-20 A few years ago, a celebrity pastor got in trouble. He was the darling of the new reformed movement for his high doctrine, aggressive style,…
-
New Birth – Christmas as Catalyst for Change
•
6 min read
I gave up New Year’s Resolutions years ago. But every year, I face the same routine of looking at my life through the lens of aging. Always. We get to midnight on New Year’s Day and by 12:01 am, I’m trying on the new year’s number with the fascination of a time traveler. How did we…
-
Our work just got harder
•
7 min read
I didn’t watch the returns Tuesday. My excuse was that we don’t have cable. But really, it was because I was afraid. I hadn’t processed what would happen if Trump won, but something told me…I don’t know. Maybe not. I didn’t check until after 9. I listened to Slate’s live feed. And I heard it…
-
Not Afraid of the Dark
•
8 min read
Banishing the fear that shrouds the light of Christ Lent 4B | John 3:14-21 In the Dark of Night When we pulled up to the bus stop this week in the inky-blue of morning, we found ourselves at the back of the line. A small handful of 3rd or 4th graders rule the stop and…
-
The Church’s Missing Ingredient
•
12 min read
I’m tired of the blame. The health and vitality of the The Episcopal Church and the Mainline generally is an oversimplified story of the 20th Century, too easily shouldered on the leadership of the 21st. It’s always the politics or the practice or the beliefs or the Bible or the liturgy or anything else ad nauseam, but…