Listening

I’m preaching in church this weekend. I always love this opportunity. To paraphrase Eric Liddell in Chariots of Fire, ‘when I preach I feel His pleasure. ‘

As often is the case, I have little advance warning of this opportunity. Officially, I have 7 days to put it all together, which is certainly less than I’d like. I’m not really complaining, but at this point my brain is a jumble of thoughts. I’m going to use my little blog this week to highlight the process that goes on inside of me as I prepare… [Click on the title above to continue reading]

5 Keys to Reading the Bible

Here is a list (by no means exhaustive) of a few guidelines to help in reading and applying the Bible to your life… To continue reading, click on the title above.

Science and Poetry

I had one of those deep conversations with a good friend the other day where we shared the kind of deep nagging philosophical questions that we grapple with during long nights and lonely times. At one point, my friend said:

Sometimes, I think about how all of the things we see and hear are mere stimuli to our senses, which just create chemical reactions that get processed by our neurons. Even happiness and sorrow are only biological functions of our cells. When you think about it, you wonder if anything we experience is actually real at all… To continue reading, click on the title above.

Critic

Remember the old show At the Movies with Siskel and Ebert? It was a TV show with two movie critics who were about as opposite as they could be. One was fat, the other thin. One was hairy, one bald. They even had completely different tastes in movies. They would sit each week and review the movies that they’d watched. They’d argue a lot, but if a movie got “two thumbs up,” you knew it would be good… (Click the title above to read the full article)

In Defense of “God Damn!”

Now that I’ve gotten your attention, yes I am talking about the epithet, but no, I am not really defending the curse. Actually, I would just like to discuss language in general and why it seems to me like we are damning the wrong curse while completely ignoring its far more dangerous cousin… (For the rest of the article, please click on the title above.)

Back to My Nets

I have always felt a strong bond with the biblical character of Peter, one of Jesus followers in the New Testament. The first time we meet Peter is in Matthew chapter 4. Peter is a fisherman, the family business. Like all Hebrew boys, he had done his time in religious school as a small child. During that time, he learned large sections of the Torah (the Old Testament)… (Click title to continue)

Indoctrination – part 2

This is part 2 in a 2 part series. If you missed it, you can read part 1 here

What frustrates me about the indoctrinational aspect of Sunday morning worship is that so much of it is often so half-hearted. This seems most clear to me whenever I’ve sung the song, I Could Sing of Your Love Forever. I have to note that I have no theological, or artistic problem with the song. I enjoy the work of Delirious? very much. My problem is with the way we sing it (and yes, I realize that fortunately the era of singing this one to death is long past)… Click the title above to continue reading.

Indoctrination – part 1

It must be strange for someone who isn’t a Christian to go to a Protestant church service. There is row after row of nicely dressed, well mannered people, standing and staring at projection screens. We seem to be singing the words written there mindlessly. “I could sing of your love forever…”

We even make motions the songs tell us to. “Oh, I feel like dancing,” they sing, and do some half-hearted side-to-side-step. It all must seem to the uninitiated like some Orwellian indoctrination, and I’m not sure in some sense that it isn’t… Click the title above to continue reading.

Dancing Demons of Rage

Yesterday I worked a side-job that ended up taking me to a heavy-metal music festival. I only did it for a little extra money, but I also enjoyed the change of scenery and getting to meet some new people, most of whom aren’t Christians. I don’t know why, but I often find myself talking and praying with people who aren’t Christians. I’m not one of those people who corner someone and make them talk with me about Jesus. I detest that. But for some reason, I often end up in conversations with people who want to talk about their pain and brokenness. So many times I have to hold back telling them how broken I am. Those conversations aren’t supposed to be about me…(Click the title to read the rest of the article)

Ahmed and God

I met Ahmed at the mall. I wasn’t looking to talk to him, but I was asking God that I be aware of anything He was doing around me. This isn’t something I do regularly. Its partly because I am often turned in to myself, only thinking and doing what relates to my little slice of the world. But, it is also due to the fact that God usually answers that prayer by showing me something He is doing. He interjects me into someone else’s little world, and a lot of times in my selfishness I don’t want to deal with that…(click the header to read the full article)