Pursuing a holistic expression of Christian faith that is true to the Bible and applicable for today’s world.
Depending on your perspective, you may call the sacrament that Jesus started as Communion, Holy Communion, the Lord’s Supper, the Eucharist, or Holy Eucharist. Other labels include the Blessed Sacrament and the Sacrament of the Altar. In my experiences, the first three names are the most common. And the most common verb associated with them […]
What Do You Expect When You Pray? When you make a bold prayer, what do you expect? Do you anticipate God will answer your request, or do you brace yourself for disappointment? More to the point, are you more surprised when your prayers are answered or surprised when they’re not? Some people pray with little […]
I don’t listen to music much anymore. I find it more distracting than helpful. But when I did listen, my preferences fell a bit out of mainstream. The band, One Bad Pig, proves my point. Let’s just say their music is an acquired taste. (They were an 80s, Christian, punk, screamo band—and I liked them!) […]
My Quest to Pray Throughout My Day I don’t think I’ll ever spend the majority of my day in God’s presence like Brother Lawrence or pray without ceasing like Paul. But I can learn to pray more often, so I seek to remain open to my surroundings, looking for reasons to pray. “God, I fear […]
In the diminutive book, The Practice of the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence shares his experience of essentially living much of his life while in the presence of God. For most of his adulthood, Brother Lawrence worked as a monastery cook. As he attended to his daily duties in the kitchen, he gradually learned how […]
In the developed world, especially the United States, size is celebrated. If something is big, we judge it as good. If it’s bigger, we applaud it as better. And if it’s the biggest, we acclaim it as the best. People equate size with success. Churches fall into this same trap. If a church is big, […]
One of the disservices of the modern era was dividing life into secular and spiritual, of splitting our existence, behavior, and reality into separate realms of activity. Premodern man had no such illusions; neither did ancient man before that. To them, everything was spiritual. If you don’t believe me, consider all the spiritual lessons and […]
On September 11, while others in the United States remembered the anniversary of a national tragedy, my wife and I celebrated the birth of our first grandson. I waited a long time for him, not with any sense of urgency but with much anticipation for the joy his arrival would bring. Now he’s here, and […]
Many people think that singing songs in church is worshiping God. They’re right, but there’s more. Other people call the entire church service, “worship,” as in “Our worship service is at ten.” I suppose they’re right, too. But there’s more to worship than a one hour a week effort. Ideally, everything we do, say, and […]
What was the original purpose of Sunday school? Religious instruction, right? No, not at all. The initial goal of Sunday school was to provide basic academic instruction to poor children. Sunday school started as a philanthropic effort, not as religious instruction. Teaching underprivileged kids to read was a key means to empower them so they […]