But are pomegranates and icons really on par with one another? After all, it is not like pomegranates were put in the temple to represent the image of God like Rublev’s icon of the hospitality of Abraham depicts the Trinity.
You Are Loved
I now know (with all my heart) that I am deeply loved. Not because I have minimized my sin and helped others manage theirs, but simply because I exist.
Reflection Roundup: Taking Time
Gratitude, simplicity, taking time. How difficult it can be to digest our own advice; how often we remain shielded from the perspectives of others. Pause; breathe.
Signing Off
Let me encourage ministers everywhere to read. Expand your mind and your heart. You will be a better minister and person for it. And it is fun.
The Long, Slow Death of the Christian Peacemaker
As U.S. Christianity becomes increasingly polarized, those in the dip of the canyon between the two sides are being slowly bludgeoned to death by the rocks meant for the other side.
Church Leaders, Optics, and Why They Matter
I am convinced that, for most church leaders, optics simply reinforce the truth that we care. That we do show up. Optics reflect our hearts.
Reflection Roundup: Unbounding Imagination
Where do we locate the intersections of truth and love within this world? This week, theology and practicality meet in ways that will stretch us all.
“The Last Novel” by David Markson
Markson defines the limits of the postmodern novel, which I know is not going to send many of you rushing out to buy it. (Fiction)
Lessons from the Shark Tank
I watch people talk to each other like other people watch a football game, and Shark Tank is one of my favorite shows for observation and learning.
A Family and the Family
The church family creates proximity to Jesus and a centralizing focus on him, until his identity becomes clear to all in the circle.
“A Secular Age” by Charles Taylor
This book is about religion, to be sure, but it is more an act of history, sociology, philosophy, and cultural criticism. (Nonfiction)
Reflection Roundup: Reframing Our Questions
Looking bidirectionally within history, to what people, ideas, and entities can we allow our questions to be vulnerable so they may be changed?
Exiled: Four Principles to Embrace
Jeremiah says to settle in. Adapt, adjust, and find ways to make a meaningful life in a new environment.
A Time to Speak, Part 1: Guilt
Many of the necessary components in addressing guilt are implicit in Christian community. Acceptance, forgiveness, compassion, and perspective are all necessary companions for this topic.
Black Love … For America
Black love has had to exist within the context of racial trauma. From the streets of daily life to corporate, academic institutions, religious spaces, and political platforms, Black people have had to live and manage their inner rage.
Reflection Roundup: Crisis Prioritizes Care
How might we feel sorry in ways that reveal the flood-to-cross character of God, and reflect this to the world around us?
“Believing Is Seeing” by Errol Morris
Seeing is believing, right? If you can’t trust a photograph, what can you trust? By the end of this book you’ll be rethinking that. (Nonfiction)
Faith Development and Women
Considering differences in learning and faith development between genders adds another layer of understanding that will hopefully lead to greater effectiveness in teaching and ministry.
Religious Services in the Age of COVID-19: Results From a Recent Survey (Part 2)
A follow-up piece reporting data and takeaways from an October 2020 survey of churchgoers about how the pandemic has impacted them and their congregations.
Reflection Roundup: We Really Are Better Together
We, the people of this common space of earth, were created by a communal God. Who do we think we are, so often going it alone?