We don’t often realize it, but Jesus traveled a lot. He was always on the move in the Gospels, from Jerusalem to Galilee to Samaria to Nazareth. He traveled places his disciples didn’t want him to go. He traveled by himself when he needed a rest. He traveled where there were crowds depending on him. […]
I took a cruise once, and I did not particularly enjoy it. I love the people who went with me. I love the amount of sunbathing and swimming I got to do, but I did not particularly enjoy the loud-speaker that was above my bed. The loud-speaker rang true and clear each morning as the […]
I came out recently on facebook. Not as gay. That would have been no big deal to the vast majority of my friends. I came out as a religious Christian. I didn’t really mean to come out. I just got the email saying I was invited to the candidacy site of the General Board of […]
During the months of my brother’s deployment, his email correspondence was often my sustenance during a string of bad days. What began as simple ‘catching up’ turned into much deeper conversations, with me furiously typing my faith struggles – those questions that abound in the first year of seminary – tossing doubts and ideas into […]
I am caught in a strange place these days. In one moment I feel both ahead of the game and behind the curve. I am 29 years old. I am one of the youngest people at my seminary. This is not a second career for me. Memories of papers and lengthy reading assignments are still […]
God Above All Things, In these moments while the document loads and my fingers rest on the keyboard grant me first an emptiness. Remove the to-do list that waits impatiently in the corner of my mind. Quiet the voice saying, “You’re not ready, you’re not good enough, you don’t have anything to say.”
Has anyone else noticed that the liturgical calendar and the academic calendar seem to sync up from time to time? Think about Advent… The eager awaiting spirit we hold as we celebrate the birth of Jesus lines up with the anticipation of surviving fall exam week and beginning Winter Break. As a last semester divinity […]
“It is finished,” I said, turning toward the altar. It was sparse and striking, with only a black cloth and a candle. A crown of thorns pierced the wax, seeming to hang as some horrible halo around the flame. The Good Friday service I had planned and preached was drawing to a close. I blew […]
Riding in the car with a close friend from home the other day, I was engaged in a lively conversation with her about some of our friends and their charismatic religious beliefs. A few recent Facebook status updates triggered our bewilderment on the possibility of physical healing. “I just don’t know if I believe it,” […]
I am twenty-eight years old, and my father still reads to me. It’s only once a year, but each Christmas Eve, my father still reads to me and my brother. We hop on the couch in our pajamas, glass of eggnog in hand (the bourbon is a relatively recent addition), and sit back to listen. […]
