Well, if you haven’t heard yet, Tara and I are moving. We’re heading to the Northeast coast for my work (I know, it’s cold there too). I’ve accepted a new position, but because of our Presbyterian process, I can’t tell you where until after the congregation of my new church votes on me. So, is…
Category: blogs
I only do what I want.
I once tried to convince my wife that I only did something because I was made to. My wife, to her credit, didn’t buy that. “You have never in your life done a single thing you didn’t want to do.” She’s right. I’ve made it a point in my life to be clear that there…
No. 2 What do you provide?
What do people buy when they buy something from you? [Read: What is someone getting when they use your services?] They’re getting an experience and tools to take with them. They’re getting collaboration and the abilities that come with my experience and history. They are getting creativity and energy for new projects. They are getting…
No. 1 Who are you?
I recently joined a youth ministry co-hort through the Youth Cartel. One of my homework assignments is to take Seth Godin’s Freelancer course from Udemy.com. For this series of videos, he has these sort of “worksheets” to do. This is my attempt to do them and have some honest transparency about them. And to keep…
list: (noun) a simple series of words or numerals; origin: germanic origin, first known use 1602
I love lists. They make me feel accomplished. When I create a list, it’s typically a “to do” list. Right now, on my phone are the following lists: Packing List Legal Documents Groceries Reminders Family General To Do There are also the random lists I keep on sticky notes in my office. Things like, “call…
space: (noun) the amount of an area, room, surface, etc., that is empty or available for use; an area that is used or available for a specific purpose; origin: middle english, 14th century
My office is one of my spaces. I have several of them. There’s my apartment, my car, the booths at Chick-fil-A down the street from work, the member’s lounge at the Art Institute of Chicago, Creation Lab, and a few others that I like to drop into from time to time. But my office is…
koine: (noun) the greek language commonly spoken and written in eastern Mediterranean countries in the Hellenistic and Roman periods; origin: first known use, 1901
Last night, I found myself sitting up late into the night attempting to understand the Koine Greek translations that I had done when I was in the midst of my seminary education. Thinking back on my Hebrew and Greek classes, I remember them fondly. In fact, in my mind, I was quite good at them….
wednesday: (adverb) the day of the week between tuesday and thursday; origin: middle english
Today is Ash Wednesday. I haven’t gone to an Ash Wednesday service in several years. Which, lots of people find shocking considering that I work for quite a large church with lots of services. I haven’t gone because finding a balance between working for the church and being part of the church has been almost…
hurt: (verb) to inflict with physical pain; to do substantial or material harm to; to cause emotional pain or anguish to; to suffer pain or grief; origin: 13th century, middle english
About 2 months ago, I found myself sitting in a community center in a meeting room, at a table with about 10 other people, talking about my faith story and some of my experiences. As I came to a particular part of my story, I found my throat closing up, my eyes becoming blurred, and…
suffering: (noun) pain that is caused by injury, illness, loss, etc. : physical, mental, or emotional pain: origin: 14th century
This last Sunday, I was given the honor of preaching for Fourth Presbyterian’s Jazz Service. Here’ a copy of the sermon I gave. Hint: this is my attempt to become more comfortable with putting this stuff out there and being unapologetic about it. If you’re gonna walk a dog, do it with pride. Today’s Old…
progressive: (adjective) moving forward; happening or developing gradually over a period of time; using or interested in new modern ideas; origin: first known use of progressive: circa 1612
For the last three days I have been attending the Progressive Youth Ministry Conference held at Fourth Presbyterian Church in downtown Chicago, IL. As the inaugural event there were highs and lows. First off, let me be clear, no conference is perfect. What is important about a conference is that it helps bring about change…
limbo: (noun) a place or state of restraint or confinement; a place or state of neglect or oblivion; an intermediate or transitional place or state; a state of uncertainty; origin: 14th century; middle english, derived from medieval latin
Yesterday an article came out by Carol Howard Merritt on the Christian Century website and made its way around the Facebook inter webs. Last week, I discovered I failed another Bible Trivia Content Exam. What happened you ask? Oh, I blanked. I blanked big time. I mean, I was incapable of telling the story of…
thetravellingtheologian 