Guiding each unit to your Sunday school classrooms has been a great privilege. I am thankful to have been part of this community that is so committed to helping people see the truth of God’s word in new, personal ways.
Uniform 04.19.2015: Recognizing Our Lies
April 12, 2015 by
In 1 John 3, John encourages us to remember that we show our love through our actions. Our faith requires us to act in love, he says. In chapter 4, John raises the stakes.
Uniform 04.05.2015: Of Resurrection and Moon Landings
March 29, 2015 by
On this Sunday, a high holy day for Christians around the world, many Americans will observe a holy moment in pop culture: the premiere of the final season of Mad Men.
Uniform 03.22.2015: Sent to Act
March 15, 2015 by
In the days leading up to World War II, a number of German theologians fled Germany. They could not stomach the way the church was changing under Nazi rule, and they knew that their dissenting ideas were dangerous.
Uniform 03.08.2015: Being an Advocate
March 1, 2015 by
We talk about people being advocates for healthcare reform, advocates for diversity, advocates for the rights of immigrants, advocates for equal pay, and the list goes on.
Uniform 02.22.2015: Prepared Faith
February 15, 2015 by
As a parent of two infants and a preschooler, leaving the house is a tremendous undertaking. After establishing that all three children are rested, fed, and dressed, I have to make sure that our van is stocked with all the equipment we will need for a successful outing.
Uniform 02.08.2015: A Need for Fresh Eyes
February 1, 2015 by
In every community, there are stories that have been told so many times that people develop a shorthand code for telling them. For my family, the mention of “sunny-side-up eggs” evokes a cautionary tale against overeating before church.
Uniform 01.25.2015: Effective Prayer
January 18, 2015 by
People love stories of miraculous healings. When I log on to social media, I am often greeted with links to stories about babies who are diagnosed with serious illnesses in the womb but are born perfectly healthy.
Uniform 01.11.2015: A Grandmother’s Voice
January 4, 2015 by
As I read these words of Jesus this week, I am grieving the loss of my grandmother, who died just after Christmas. My mind is running a constant feed of the time my family and I spent saying goodbye.
Uniform 12.28.2014: Faith for the Unexpected
December 21, 2014 by
One of my favorite movies to watch at Christmas is The Bishop’s Wife. In it, a frazzled bishop, played by David Niven, prays for God’s guidance as he struggles to raise funds for a new cathedral and maintain a healthy relationship with his wife (Loretta Young).
Uniform 12.14.2014: Communal Noise
December 7, 2014 by
Advent is perhaps the most audibly rich time on the Christian calendar. Bells ringing, fires crackling, people singing—the sounds of the season prepare us for Christmas in a way that sights alone cannot.
Uniform 11.30.2014: Gratitude and Hope
November 23, 2014 by
This week marks the start of a new season on the church calendar. It is Advent, the time when Christians wait with hopeful expectation for the coming of Christ. As it so often does, this first Sunday of Advent—when we light the candle of hope on our wreaths—falls just a few days after Thanksgiving.
Uniform 11.02.2014: If You Build It, God Will Come
October 26, 2014 by
In the iconic 1989 film, Field of Dreams, Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella is moved by a mysterious voice to plow under most of his cornfield and build a baseball field. “If you build it, he will come,” the voice whispers.
Uniform: Seeing through Grieving Eyes
October 12, 2014 by
When my 3-year-old is upset about something, he suddenly becomes upset about everything else, too. After suffering from an injury or disappointment, he begins to see all the other things that are out of place in his world.
Uniform 10.05.2014: And Never Stops at All
September 28, 2014 by
Habakkuk displays an ability to do something that I struggle with, especially in times of crisis or grief: he acknowledges and laments God’s silence while trusting that God will speak again. When I have experienced God’s absence from my life, the idea that God was still there somehow has not provided me with any sort of comfort.
Uniform 09.21.2014: Acting with Hope
September 14, 2014 by
When this week’s text begins, things look pretty bleak for Jeremiah and the people of Judah. Jeremiah finds himself imprisoned by King Zedekiah, who is distressed by Jeremiah’s message of coming destruction.
Uniform 09.07.2014: Rebuilding
August 31, 2014 by
When my great-great grandparents settled in Middle Tennessee, they found a farm in the small community of Mona and built a house for their family. Robert and Ella Barrett spent many happy years in that farmhouse with their fourteen children.
Uniform 08.24.2014: Afflictions, Hardships, and Calamities
August 17, 2014 by
This has been a difficult few weeks in the news. This week, we might read Paul’s words to the Corinthians who face “afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger” (6:4-5) more as a summary of contemporary news than as a list of Christian trials.
Uniform 08.10.2014: Moving Forward Through Forgiveness
August 3, 2014 by
When Paul writes 2 Corinthians, both he and the congregation in Corinth are recovering from a “painful visit” (2:1). After spending a lot of time in Corinth, Paul had returned, hoping to reconnect with friends and continue guiding the young church. But he had been greeted with distrust and accusations of insincerity.
Uniform 07.27.2014: Feeling Left Out
July 20, 2014 by
Because I don’t belong to a tradition that incorporates the speaking of tongues into worship or private devotion, it’s tempting for me to skip over Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 14. “That doesn’t apply to me,” I want to say.
Uniform 07.13.2014: Knowing God through Love
July 6, 2014 by
I come from a family that highly values education. Both of my parents are teachers, as were both of my maternal grandparents. Advanced degrees are scattered throughout the family. For my siblings and me, going to college was never a choice to make but an expectation to fulfill.
Uniform 06.29.2014: Finding Unity in a Divided World
June 22, 2014 by
We live in a world that urges us to take sides. Based on these labels, and often little else, we decide whether or not we should associate with people. We let the sides we take in public debates define who we are.
Uniform 06.15.2014: Being Holy
June 8, 2014 by
Old Testament writers are often concerned with holiness. With an extensive collection of laws about how to remain holy, or set apart, God’s people had an innate knowledge of what threatened their holiness.
Uniform 06.01.2014: All Deliberate Speed
May 23, 2014 by
Having grown up in Georgia, I have heard many stories about when my state’s public schools finally integrated. In many cases, the court’s order did not take hold until the mid-70s, twenty years after its decree that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.”