Faithful ministry isn’t defined by the success we receive or by how many people attend our programs. Instead, the call of ministry, indeed the call for all spiritual life, is to walk the path set before us, no matter what it looks like in the moment. We follow the way of Jesus.
Community
Calling for the Gospel
Church meetings can feel like car accidents; Everything goes smoothly until it doesn’t. An accident of procedure or wording grinds everything to a halt. Discussions, schedules, and tasks pile upon each other until eventually all forward progression stops. And like just an accident on the freeway, the longer you sit in its effects the more … Continue reading Calling for the Gospel
When I Reach my Capacity for Closeness
Have you ever had enough of people? Have you ever wanted to distance yourself, not from anyone in specific, but people in general? It’s as if, suddenly, we reach our limit of social interaction. It happens to me about once per year.
Asking Questions: A spiritual practice for Discouragement and beyond. (A guest post by Kandi Zeller)
In our culture of certainty, questions can seem threatening and unnatural. By contrast, Jesus spent much of his ministry asking questions and challenging assumptions. The sheer volume of these questioning instances in the Gospels should encourage us: if we are to be formed in the image of Christ (Romans 8:29), might we sometimes be formed by asking questions?
Misreading Jesus
There is a scene in Luke’s gospel where Peter denies Jesus three times. Immediately following his denials, Peter sees Jesus turn and “looked straight at him” (Luke 22:61). I have often seen this scene through the lens of rebuke. I have pictured Jesus giving Peter a stare of disappointment. Perhaps the faint whisper of “Oh Behave!” can be heard coming from Christ’s lips. When we view Jesus’ gaze this way, it becomes easy to assume that this is how Jesus looks at us.
Why I Write what I Write
The Psalmists spoke of walking through valleys of darkness, ancient writers talked about the Dark night of the Soul; when did we adopt such an unbiblical assumption that our faith is never affected by the highs and lows of our existence. The Christian life that Jesus calls us to is never disconnected from our everyday lives.
The Blessing of Goodbye: A guest post by Reverend Theo Robinson
Saying goodbye is never easy. And some goodbyes are harder than others. But no matter how painful, saying goodbye is important. A lack of a goodbye can feel like unfinished business while the opportunity to say goodbye can be extremely healing
The Blessing of a boring Psalm.
Psalm 136 isn’t one of the popular psalms. In fact, if there was ever an award for the most boring of psalms, I’m confident it would go to Psalm 136. The psalm comes across as pedantic, dry, and frankly, a bit uninspired. At first glance, it offers nothing more than a broad retelling of Israel’s history. And if that weren’t enough, every other line in the psalm is the same. That’s right, the psalm repeats the same statement 26 times. It is this repeated verse, however, which is significant.
Jeff Probst is not God
A friend once asked me where God was during his turmoil. He was going through a large upheaval in his life; he couldn’t see anything beyond the obstacles he faced. He felt physically, emotionally, and spiritually exhausted. “Is God even near me in all of this?” he grieved. “No.” I responded.
Reverend Kyle Norman 