-
dead gods and the living god
There’s a chapter from a book by Justo Gonzalez that I often come back to called, “Let the Dead Gods Bury Their Dead.” Here’s an excerpt from one of the early paragraphs: Some gods are better dead than alive. Humankind did not lose a great deal when Huitzilopochtli and his cohorts lost their power to…
-
pastor and congregation
I sit here writing this reflection with about 5 weeks before my final day at the church, and I don’t know if I’ll ever put this out into the public. But in this moment, I’m pondering, What is the pastor’s relationship to the congregation? And in these final months, I’m ever aware that my time…
-
Ignorance, grace, and fruitfulness
One afternoon, after church, I was chatting with a church member who was reflecting on her childhood upbringing at her church. In particular, she recalled with fondness a series of youth revival events called “Jesus Generation” that were held at her church. When she mentioned it, I wasn’t sure if she was punking me. I…
-
Lead with love
We recently finished up a sermon series for church on the book of Titus. It wasn’t the easiest book to preach on, but I am pleased with how it turned out. As I was finishing the last sermon, one refrain that I kept going back to “lead with love” as a way to live out…
-
Processing Rob’s Departure
To King’s Cross Church, Grace, mercy (hesed), and peace. How are we supposed to process the events of the past several months? We all respond differently in stressful situations like this. Some of us are uneasy with conflict and strong emotions. Others respond with confident indifference, trying not to feel anything by busying ourselves with…
-
The Church Isn’t a Service Industry
I didn’t get around to writing for over two months, but it’s not for lack of activity. It’s been busy. Our church has been busy trying to get back on track while covid and leadership stress/burnout have been throwing a barrage of banana peels and turtle shells at us. And as I’ve been talking and…
