Author: The Rev

Or is it just fantasy? Photo by Okamatsu FujikawaI am noticing an unsettling trend within my tribe. There is a lot of “spiritualization” happening at the expense of doing what is right. This is something that has happened at many times throughout human history. Jesus even dealt with this when he was here. Check out this story, Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.) And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according...

That time when you realize Psalm 50 is relevant. Photo by Eduard MilitaruI have been thinking and praying about where we’re at in this crazy world of ours. Something just isn’t connecting for me as I see my tribe, my people, so quickly give themselves to the power of the empire. It doesn’t matter if they’re on the left or the right. Every few years they scramble over themselves to align themselves with power for a “seat at the table.” This time around it was more stark than ever. Today Psalm 50 was one of the passages in the Scriptures that I read. I had to return to it because it was, as my friend The Beard says, “relevant.” It’s so money, that I want you to read the whole thing and not just the snippets: A Psalm of Asaph. The Mighty One, God the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth. Our God...

…or Are You A Two Faced Poser? Photo by Camila DamasioGrowing up in a nearly all white community in a white family there were a lot of jokes about other races and nationalities. We would tell these jokes with reckless abandon in private and hushed voices in public. I am ashamed as I look back at the jokes and that I would tell. As I grew older and entered into close relationships with people who looked different than me that these jokes didn’t seem as funny anymore. A few times I manned up and challenged the joke teller, “Well I’m not racist if that’s what you’re getting at. It’s just a joke. It’s not like I’d say that joke around them.” In Galatians 2 Paul tells a story about a time when he and Peter (Cephas) had a little “issue”: Galatians 2:11–14 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he was...

Your friends and family won’t get you. I remember sitting at the table at the family cabin after my first mission trip with Cru. My family was asking about the summer and what I had learned. As we started talking about Jesus and the gospel, it didn’t go so well. “Who is interpreting the Bible for you?” When my wife and I became missionaries to the college campus, most of our backing came from people we didn’t know. Close friends and some family didn’t join with us. They prayed, of that I’m certain. But, they just couldn’t get on board with what we were doing. As a pastor, I’m finding that my weird life is misunderstood by many of those closest to me. I’ve learned to be OK with it. To smile and laugh, I know it’s not mean-spirited. Jesus was in his hometown and as he tried to carried out his ministry those closest to him said, “And on the Sabbath he began to...

Sometimes pain, affliction, or suffering has purpose. When we are going through the hard times in our lives we often wonder “where is God?” Philosophers have wrestled with the question of “why do bad things happen to good people?” There’s an entire text in the Bible about this very question, the book of Job. Isaiah 48 opens with God explaining why his people are experiencing affliction. There are two reasons, first, he says they are stiff-necked. The sinews of their neck are like iron! This means that they can’t turn or change. It’s an illustration for a lack of repentance. The second reason is that it is a result of the affliction or suffering God is glorified. This second reason is a hard pill for me to swallow. It feels uncomfortable. But, then as I continued to ponder what he’s saying, I am drawn back to the opening verse, “Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and who...

Or…get your heart and mind right for tomorrow. Tomorrow is January 20, 2017 and Donald J. Trump will be inaugurated as the President of the United States. Governor Mike Pence will be the Vice President of the United States. The country I live in will once again transition power from one sitting president to the next. There will be no civil war. There will be no intervention from the United Nations. There will be no need for a foreign super-power to act as a nation builder. Every time this happens it is an amazing thing to behold. Many of my friends are excited about the prospects of a Republican presidency. Many of my friends are deeply concerned about a Trump presidency. I am sure that the people of my congregation fall on both sides of this spectrum too. As the inauguration approaches I want to remind us that as Christians our primary allegiance is to the kingdom of God and this demands us...

Don’t waste a day! Photo by Ales KrivecI remember waking up in a dorm room at Ferris State University after a night of partying. I didn’t feel all that great. Honestly, I felt dirty and a little thin. The night before was fun, I laughed, I don’t think I cried, I drank a little too much and escaped from reality. That morning as I drove back to Central Michigan University I was overwhelmed by the thought that, “There has to be more than this.” There had to be right? Tom Brady has asked the same kind of question: As a college freshman I wasn’t very successful, but I was beginning to wrestle with some huge questions. The kinds of questions that altar your life. Ephesians 5:15 says, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” This phrase, “making the best use of the time” has captured me. From my Sophomore year at college...

Or…why I don’t want to be a Grinch Photo by Tim MarshallOne of my favorite Christmas stories is “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.” I dig it for so many reasons. What I like the most is the Grinch’s revelation that Christmas is about something more than just presents. Do you remember what happens in that moment? His heart grew three sizes! It finally had room for the real meaning of Christmas and he finds the strength of ten Grinches! I was reading in Psalm 119:25–32 today and this last verse hit me between the eyes, I will run in the way of your commandments when you enlarge my heart! The psalmist is acutely aware that he needs a larger heart. Our hearts start so small and there’s not enough room. We need new ones, bigger ones, ones that have room for the commandments. I love this image! It reminds me of something that C.S. Lewis said in Mere Christianity, “Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that...