Love and Justification
Theologians are always debating the righteousness of God in justification. Is it imputed? Is it infused? Is it forensic? I can’t tell you the torture I put myself through for decades over this kind of stuff. Like a navigator who knows if his calculation is off by the slightest degree he will miss the mark, [...]
Reflections on a Yard Sale
Yes, I confess. I used to dread our biannual church yard sales, which are always on a Saturday, but take two days to set-up. A lot of my distaste for them was the pressure of time while raising kids, the neglect of my own home and yard that would still have to be made up, [...]
(5 + 2) x Jesus = Enough 4 All
“Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, ’Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?’” –John 6:8b-9 As school starts back and we approach Rally Day and the kick-off of our annual stewardship campaign, imagine if there were a way to multiply time. [...]
Who Would Jesus Deport
Today, the first of May, there were protest all over the country against Arizona’s new immigration law. One protestor was carrying a sign “Who Would Jesus Deport?” What if it said “Who Would Jesus Marry?” (I mean by this not get married to but whose marriage would he preside over.) Can you image the outrage? [...]
Abandoning Those Most in Need
If you follow what’s going on in the news in Africa, especially in Zimbabwe, you can see what suffering amidst chaos the church is dealing with there. Did anyone at the ELCA Assembly last August even stop to consider how the vote to roster gays would affect our ability to stand with them in solidarity and [...]
ELCA Fallout
In the cover story of this month’s “The Lutheran: ” “Sexuality issue causes division, sadness — and hope: Assessing the fallout from decisions made at the 2009 Churchwide Assembly, one can read the following: Jo Hollingsworth, an admittedly left-leaning member of Hope Lutheran Church in Fostoria, Ohio, supports ELCA‘s decisions on sexuality issues. She finds her decision strengthened by [...]
Church Constituencies?
According to a recent Synod newsletter referring to the upcoming Synod Assembly: “Congregations with members who are persons of color or persons whose primary language is other than English: Send one additional lay voting member from each constituency.” Huh? Did I miss something in Galatians 3:28: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, [...]
Red Pew, Blue Pulpit
There’s an interesting article today in “The Courier-Journal” about a new survey done by the Research Services of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. “Donkeys are often preaching to elephants in Presbyterian churches, a denominational survey says. Specifically, Democrats outnumber Republicans by a 2 to 1 margin among Presbyterian pastors. In contrast, Republicans far outnumber Democrats among [...]
Questions: Adam and Eve
In his song “Could it Be,” Michael Card sings: ”Could it be that questions tell us more than answers ever do?” I often think so. So I am starting a new category as a place marker for me to pose questions that I think can lead to interesting reflections. First up: What if Adam had told [...]
The Offering as Worship
A Temple Talk on stewardship I gave today at church. My talk this morning is on giving as an act of worship. These talks are structured around Mark Allen Powell’s wonderful book: Giving To God, the first chapter of which is “An Act of Worship.” I can’t recommend this book highly enough, but I don’t [...]
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