We arrived back from California last night and I jumped into teaching my Thursday class on the Gospel of John. The Gospel itself is fascinating enough. But I have become even more interested in John himself — writer, theologian, artist, churchman. We’ve gone to great lengths in this class to describe just how different John’s Read the full article…
I have been thinking about how my understanding of my specific role as a pastor has changed through the years. Twenty years ago, in a small rural parish, my role was to provide comfort and counsel to people through the ministry of visitation. The first words my first District Superintendent ever spoke to me were Read the full article…
Though I grew up in Texas and have lived on the East Coast throughout my adult life, California has always had a hold on my imagination. As I posted yesterday, 3/4 of my little family and I are here on a combination wedding trip / vacation. So what does California conjure up in my mind? Read the full article…
I missed church yesterday because Julie, Riley, and I are in the California desert. After I officiated at a wedding in Mission Viejo on Sunday, we trekked a couple of hours east to Palm Desert that evening. That lands us today in Indian Wells, home of the BNP Paribas Open, one of the top pro Read the full article…
On a hill far away . . . So begins one of the best-loved hymns of the faith, The Old Rugged Cross.Yet have we considered what it really means that the central symbol of the Christian faith is an instrument of execution? Can you imagine if church steeples were topped with guillotines or we wore Read the full article…
