Wealth, profit, and financial success atone for all wickedness of word and action in a society that worships Mammon, the god of riches. Continue reading
The first chapter of the Torah reading for this week: There Arose A New King Over Egypt
Topics in this chapter: Problems with growing numbers of foreigners, new kings, government endorsed building projects, systematic oppression and murder, civil disobedience, women risking it all to bear and save lives.
Nothing new under the sun, I suppose: Continue reading
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Rex Tillerson Confirmation Hearing
Senate Confirmation Hearings provided by NPR: Continue reading
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Senator Jeff Sessions’ Attorney General Confirmation Hearings
The following is provided by NPR: Continue reading
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E. Stanley Jones: The Sermon on the Mount, Creeds, and Christianity
E. Stanley Jones was a Methodist missionary and theologian. He is most well known for his work in India and, espeically, his friendship with Gandhi. He has many well known works in missionary, theological, and Methodist circles, including The Christ on the Indian Road, which sold over 1 million copies.
One of his works that has been formative for me is The Christ of the Mount, in which Jones focuses on the teachings of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. I really cannot recommend this book enough. It is transformative. Continue reading
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Highly Recommended: Verse Music
I am honored to know Callen Clarke and to count him among my closest friends. He is more talented than I can convey in a single post, but I hope this can be an introduction. One of his many talents, and one that continues to shape and encourage me, is his ability to convey beauty and story through music—whether it be through his symphonic pieces or worship songs written for individual instruments. Continue reading
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Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941
On a Sunday morning 75 years ago today, Pearl Harbor was attacked. Continue reading
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The Temptation to Be Powerful – Henri Nouwen
One of the best books I’ve ever read on ministry and leadership is In The Name of Jesus by Henri Nouwen. I was introduced to it sometime in the early 1990’s, and it has been work to which I have returned regularly. As Nouwen’s words have often been timely and good reminders for me, I thought I would share some of this thoughts on power here: Continue reading
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How the Son of Man Will Evaluate “All the Nations”
The story told by Jesus in Matthew 25:31-46 begins with this introduction:
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” (Matthew 25.31–32)
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“Let’s not let this attack be the primary source of our perspective”
My friend Rich Rosendahl has committed himself to connecting and sharing life with his refugee neighbors in Des Moines, Iowa, and he works full time training others in his context and around the U.S. to do the same. He is the founder of The Nations, an organization that facilitates individual and corporate engagement with refugee communities. Rich has worked with refugees both here in the U.S. and in the Middle East (in Jordan, in Tunisia on the Libyan border, and Palestine); and he has also worked in Iraq facilitating peace initiatives among divided groups and tribes there. Issues and facts related to refugees here in the U.S. and abroad are not theoretical for Rich: he knows them firsthand.
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I’m Pretty Certain It Would Have Been A Different Story
‘Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”’ (Luke 14.12–14 NIV)
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Pew Research: Why Americans are Leaving Religion—and Why They’re Unlikely to Come Back
This report is not surprising, but re-affirms the trends that we have been witnessing since the early 1990’s. As the report states:
“By the end of the 1990s, 14% of the public claimed no religious affiliation. The rate of religious change accelerated further during the late 2000s and early 2010s, reaching 20% by 2012. Today, one-quarter (25%) of Americans claim no formal religious identity, making this group the single largest “religious group” in the U.S.” (page 2)
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