Yesterday, the beloved Wendell Berry died at age 92. He was an American novelist, poet, essayist, environmental activist, cultural critic, and farmer. Many of us profited greatly from his various writings, always being challenged by him to pay better attention to what is happening around us, and to do what we could for the good of all things, no matter how small. And he could always comfort: “The impeded stream is the one that sings.” A friend and I were texting about his pas

Sunday in church we sang the familiar “Amazing Grace”, written by converted slave ship captain John Newton. Everyone knows the hymn. Our congregation is largely upper-middle-class, mostly made up of the baby boomer generation. As we sang the first line, in which Newton declares his amazement at the thought that God would save “a wretch like me”, I considered whether I had been or am a wretch. I looked around, wondering how many in the congregation would identify themselves

I was born, raised, and trained in a strong evangelical (Reformed) community. I spent the first 25 years of my adult life ministering formally from that community. Now, I do not call myself evangelical. That is not because I think the community was/is not well-intentioned and has everything wrong. Rather, I am convinced the community has aligned itself with modern Western culture more than it recognizes and is willing to admit, and that this alignment has produced some bad fr

Rethinking "O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus" and the direction of the biblical story. Recently my lectionary devotional app played a classic hymn - O, the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus. (See lyrics below). I remember it well from my growing-up years. We sang it regularly at home and church. I could probably sing every part and most of the lyrics without a book. When I hear it today, those memories go deep. But other thoughts arise after 40+ years of life experience, during whic

During the last few years, I have been sourcing my prayers from a variety of ethnic, cultural, and religious traditions. Sometimes the prayers are as good as – or better than – the Bible! But that makes perfect sense to me, because I take literally and seriously the declarations of the Bible that Jesus has created all things and is holding all things together (Col. 1), that “in him we move and have our being” (Acts 17 – note: a quote from a Greek philosopher which found its w

Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi was a 13th-century Persian poet, Islamic scholar, and Sufi mystic. His poetic writings on divine love, the human soul and the unity of all things have become precious to me. Here is one of his on the persistent pursuit of Love. No one can escape it. Not even you, or the worst person you know. You found me once again, you thief of hearts. In drunken ecstasy, you searched the bazaar and found me. Even through sleepy-lidded, Love-drunk eyes, you sp

I am reading a book called The Gospel According to Eve (2019) by the Rev. Dr. Amanda Benckhuysen (what a great Dutch name!). The book...

We live in a culture that wants to "get over" or "fix" suffering asap. We have lost the ability to experience Jesus' presence in...

We continue our series on "What is the Gospel" with the focus on how Jesus came to set up God's Kingdom. The church has acknowledged...

We continue our series on "what is the Gospel?" by thinking about how Jesus rescues all of creation - from the intensely personal to...

After a recent conversation, I have been thinking about my disillusionment with the white evangelical church, and why it lies so deep. I...

Part 2 of the "What is the Gospel?" series. Jesus has come to earth to show us God's love. What is God's love? And what about God's...

I am currently doing a 6-part sermon series entitled "What is the Gospel?" Many of us who identify as Christians have a unclear view of...

I am reading a book by Liz Charlotte Grant called Knock at the Sky: Seeking God in Genesis after Losing Faith in the Bible . “Braiding...

Bruce [i] Onobrakpeya (b. 1936) is a celebrated Nigerian painter and printmaker. Onobrakpeya pioneered bronzed lino relief and metal...

How will we as communities and individuals respond to the deconstruction or collapse of our environment and perhaps our civilization? How...

“We live in a time of stunning and contagious collective stupidity [i] . Anti-Nazi German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in Letters...

“In 1973, anthropologist Ernest Becker published the Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Denial of Death . The book explains how our species...

We left you last chapter with a question: you may wonder if McLaren is too negative about Western civilization. Is there nothing that...

Brian McLaren has tried to show us that it is hard if not impossible for us to remove the rose-colored glasses through which we view our...