Experiencing Jesus in Prayer

“Why do you Presbyterians pray with your eyes open?” I had never heard a question like that before, but my friend meant it honestly and curiously. He had noticed as he had been hanging out in our little church in my hometown that everyone seemed to offer their prayers with their eyes open, rather than closing them and folding their hands like he was used to. It was a little bit of a mystery to me,…

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Experiencing Jesus in the Bible

A few days ago I was having a conversation with someone who had just recently discovered that I was a youth pastor. I love that moment, when people look at my bearded self and try to reconcile all their pictures of what a pastor is with what’s standing before them. It can illicit all kinds of responses. Sometimes people will try to convince me that they go to church, which is an interesting first r…

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