Saturday, December 28, 2019
Have you ever assembled a tent? It’s not as simple as putting up some poles and throwing a tarp over them. To set up camp isn’t an arbitrary or fleeting action—it is a deliberate, intentional choice to settle in a place.To dwell somewhere—to abide—is setting up...
Friday, December 27, 2019
A seminary professor of mine, teaching about mission and evangelism, said: Remember: if it’s not working for you, don’t try to sell it to me.When I’m enthusiastic about a book, TV show, gadget, or a new store in my neighborhood, I eagerly share my feelings...
Thursday, December 26, 2019
In my years ministering in New York City, I have been especially humbled by people’s personal accounts of life on 9/11/2001. There are so many sensory and emotional details: the terror and fear, the smell of smoke, the ash that covered the city, the twelve miles I...
Wednesday, December 25, 2019
There is no news better than this: The fullness of God in Christ Jesus has come to restore all of creation. It’s what every prophecy has pointed toward. We can hardly wait to tear off the wrapping paper and enjoy this gift.The gift-wrapping is dingy bands of cloth....
Tuesday, December 24, 2019
When the song of the angels is stilled,When the star in the sky is gone,When the kings and the princes are home,When the shepherds are back with their flock,The work of Christmas begins:To find the lost, To heal the broken,To feed the hungry,To release the...
Tuesday, December 24, 2019
Jesus comes among us as a baby fresh from his mother’s womb and continues gathering children close to him throughout his ministry. A little boy provides the fish and bread that feed 5,000. Jesus raises Jairus’s daughter to life again. Jesus pulls children near to him...
Monday, December 23, 2019
by the Rev. Watson Lamb, Chaplain, Chapel of the Holy Spirit, New Orleans We are in the last couple of days of Advent, and the waiting is almost over. In just two days, we will celebrate God coming down to be an intimate part of creation in the form of a baby. As we...
Monday, December 23, 2019
At a training I attended a few years ago, a discussion arose around leadership and authority models. The facilitator gave a helpful framework for effective leadership: power plus love. Power without love is treacherous. Love without power is anemic. Power and love...
Sunday, December 22, 2019
“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” must be one of the most popular hymns of this season. The words alone are enough to break your heart and put it back together again. Ransomed captives. Mourning in lowly exile. God opening. God with us. Rejoice!This is the same bone-deep,...
Saturday, December 21, 2019
I recently went through an extremely dark, difficult season in life. I’m usually pretty upbeat, but life had crushed me to the point where I wasn’t myself anymore. As that season came to a close, I found myself visiting a friend’s church. At coffee hour, a person...
