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…
Category: church
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…
ugliness: (adjective) frightful, dire; likely to cause inconvenience or discomfort; morally offensive or objectionable; origin: 13th century; middle english
The last time I went public with my thoughts (I’m not counting Facebook or Twitter), was back in April. I had some hard decisions to make. After that last post I ended up making one of the hardest decisions I ever had to. I decided to leave the job I was working at and move…
decision: (noun) the act of or need for making up one’s mind; resolution; origin: 1425-75; late middle english
My job requires me to make a lot of decisions. A lot. These decisions range from what color to order of bandannas and shirts for the camp store, from who to hire for the summer, all the way from how to start dispersing with the camp things like canoes, kitchen equipment, etc. I make a…
ordination: (noun) a decreeing; origin: 1350-1400; middle english
For the third time, I find myself beginning to study for my Theological Competence Exam, and my second for the Polity Exam, for the PCUSA. The first time I took these tests, back in August of 2011 and Jaunary 2012, respectively I was excited and nervous; emotions about taking these tests that I had prepared for my entire…
memories: (noun, plural of memory) the reputation of a person or thing; a person, thing, event, act, etc., remembered; origin: 1275-1325, middle english
Watching my grandmother pass a few months ago, was one of the hardest, and most silently relieving things, of my short 29 year-old adult existence. It was hard because she wanted to go, and we (the family), wanted her to stay. But now, she’s gone and I believe that she is in a better place….
church: (noun), the whole body of Christian believers; Christendom; origin: before 900
A few weeks ago, I went to Dallas. Home of big hair, big steaks, cattle with big horns, and also a big gathering of Presbyterians trying to sustain and nurture the church. People trying to help breathe new life into the church; similar to the way that God breathes the breath of life (ruah) into…
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