Christmas Truce
Christmas has become so familiar and ritualized that it may help to look for renewed meaning in the unlikeliest of circumstances, to travel from the traditional imagery of December in year one of the Common Era to a distant Christmas
Preacher Teacher
The purpose of a preacher is to persuade. The purpose of a teacher is to make students ready to engage. I’m a teacher. I’m also a pastor, so many people call what I do on Sunday mornings preaching. But it’s not—not any more
What God Wants
I’ve often heard pastors and televangelists talking about what God wants. What God wants us to do or feel or say or [mostly] give. I’ve always thought it fairly presumptuous to claim to know what God wants from our perch
Zero Sum and Abundance
In our modern western economy, our understanding of life itself revolves around zero sum, legality, and scarcity. On the other hand in God’s economy, Jesus is painting a very different picture of his and our Father constantly throughout the Bible. When
A Political Jesus
Is Jesus a liberal or conservative? I’ve read many commentators and scholars over the years who see in Jesus a political ideology or social cause. Whether liberal or conservative, no surprise they generally see him on their side of the spectrum
Here Be Dragons
I played football the first two years of high school. Well, I was on the team…didn’t play much. But for what I lacked in ability on the field I tried to compensate with what I could do well: study. I
First Person
Took my teenage son out to get bagels and cream cheese today. Between mouthfuls I asked about the new boy who came over last night with the usual neighborhood friends to hang in the back room. Turns out he’s another teen
Leaving Jesus
So I get on my iCalendar to do some scheduling for Easter week, and there’s no Easter. April Fool’s Day is there, which falls on the same day, but no Easter, no Good Friday. I read later that Apple has
One World at a Time
Dave Brisbin | 4.8.18 What world, what life should be the focus of our spiritual awareness? The ancient Hebrews who wrote our Judeo-Christian scripture have a very clear answer. A short clip from the podcast "I Bless the Rains."
I Can’t Make You Love Me
Have you ever had your heart broken or dared to love someone with no guarantee of being loved back? What did God risk by daring to give us the ultimate gift--the gift of choice? Are you ready to look at
