There are any number of texts that confuse me deeply. Yes, even as a pastor, even as someone who has studied these texts far too much, I am still confused and disoriented by some texts. Which, right at the onset, I should say I think is good. We are called to wrestle with God, not just understand God. One of the texts I wrestle with is when Jesus is telling his disciples to go out in to the…
I have had the blessing of being part of a graduate certificate program in Church Planting and Revitalization at Pittsburgh Seminary this year. While some of my fellow students are in fact church planters, starting their own New Worshipping Communities, a majority of us are more interested in the revitalization piece of the equation. We come at our studies from the sure and steady conviction that…
5:15 AM: There is a slight, but steady, knock at the door. Julian is awake. We had a lengthy discussion last night about how we should not wake up before the sun, but apparently said conversation had no affect. 5:17 AM: Ok. He’s still knocking. I can’t ignore him back to sleep. I roll over and look at the clock, and say words that I’m not allowed to repeat on this blog. 5:18 AM: I wander in to the l…
I had a friend who once said that everything before the “but” doesn’t actually count. For instance, “I think you are a really great person. You are really thoughtful, considerate, and kind. But, I think you really need to work on your personal hygiene.” Or perhaps you’ve heard something like “I think Phil Kessel is a really great hockey player. He’s got an incredible shot, and he scores more goals than most…
On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Now standing there w…
