Eugene Peterson’s book, “Run with the Horses”, based on Jeremiah, was the foundation and inspiration for this article. Believe it or not, trouble and hardship don’t have to ruin our lives. We can live well under the most difficult circumstances. It can even bring the best...
What does it mean to age in a church culture that’s obsessed with and idolizes youthfulness? As most of you know, I recently reached my Big 7-0hhhhhhhh milestone birthday. Someone wrote, “life and time are ghosted creatures for us all. They belong to us and are...
What does it mean to be a naturally supernatural person? This is a question I’ve been exploring for decades. So on this morning of 2019 I found myself reflecting on that question yet again. Here’s what I’ve come up with… so far. I’m coming to understand...
There’s nothing like New York City during the Christmas season. There’s a certain magic to it. But it’s also one of the most congested places on earth. Even if you’ve done crowds in other cities, you have to channel your inner farm animal and be...
We’re in the Advent season and soon we’ll be celebrating the event that changed the world forever – the birth of Christ. In my last post we got into the Christmas spirit by imagining what it would be like to have an advent of our own…...
Advent isn’t a word we normally use. It means the awaited arrival of something momentous. Traditionally, the Church calls the period leading up to Christmas, the Season of Advent. So, what if this Christmas you can experience an advent of your own? A momentous arrival...
What’s the likelihood that Jesus would hang out at a bar? Pretty darn good if you ask me. For ten years the North Brooklyn Vineyard (now Vineyard One) hosted a gathering every Sunday evening at the Trash Bar, best known for its PBRs, tator tots,...
Scripture tells us, “Our life is lived by faith. We do not live by what we see in front of us.” (2Corinthians 5:7) I would add to that, “… or by what you feel”. We live in the day and age of feelings. Feelings rule us....
The Rolling Stones sang: You can't always get what you want But if you try sometimes, well, you might find You get what you need I’ve found this to be particularly true of following Jesus… Eugene Peterson observed that Jesus, “doesn’t say the same thing to everyone, but he does...
As I’ve been preparing a teaching on the subject of power encounters, I’ve had a pastoral concern: How to handle them in light of the inclination of some believers to drift away from genuine, credible gospel living into sensationalism. So I thought I’d write about...