As Tony Campolo described it in the title of his 1992 book, The Kingdom of God Is a Party. Do we really grasp what that means?
My Undelivered Stand-up Routine for Those Not Likely to Come Back to Church
November 8, 2022 by
How is everybody doing tonight? You look great. You’re less sober than the people I usually talk to.
Unless You Come unto Me as These
October 5, 2022 by
This one is going to be a problem for us. You know that most adults have forgotten that they were children once upon a time. In fact, how long has it been since most adults have included “once upon a time” in any sentence?
“Come and See”
March 9, 2022 by
After witnessing the weeping of Mary and her surrounding community, Jesus is greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved (v. 33). But he does not weep himself until the people entreat him to “come and see” where Lazarus’s body has been laid (v. 34).
Formations 07.25.2021: Come and See
July 18, 2021 by
It was a significant turning point in my faith when I discovered there is more than one valid, biblical model of evangelism. Growing up, my idea of what it meant to share the gospel was rooted in passages like Mark 5:19.
Crossroads: The Light Has Come
January 4, 2021 by
“There’s a light at the end of the tunnel.” “You’re almost there!” “Blue skies are coming.” We use a lot of phrases to talk about how the light is coming.
Formations 06.07.2020: Come and See!
May 31, 2020 by
Who are your favorite celebrities? What draws you to them? How do you think you would react if you got to meet them in person?
Your Kingdom Come
December 11, 2019 by
Founder of the Advent Project, William H. Peterson, wrote, “While there is scant hope of changing the culture around us, the Church need not be a fellow traveler.
Coming, a Prayer for Advent
December 3, 2019 by
Come to us, Lord Jesus,
in every purple-patterned life,
every wrap of loving arms
in shivering December.
Formations 06.23.2019: The Kingdom Has Come
June 16, 2019 by
The novel Slaughterhouse-Five offers two stories about Billy Pilgrim’s life. In the first, Kurt Vonnegut tells of Pilgrim’s, and his own, experience as a soldier in World War II.
Connections 01.20.2019: The Best Is Yet to Come
January 13, 2019 by
“Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now” (v. 10). That’s what the steward of the wedding feast, who has just tasted the water that Jesus turned into wine, says to the bridegroom.
Formations 01.28.2018: Come and See!
January 21, 2018 by
When we think of evangelism, the verbs that usually come to mind are “go and tell.” That is certainly the approach we see in verses such as Mark 4:19 and Matthew 28:19. When I was in college, our Baptist Student Union leaders often encouraged us students to take the Great Commission seriously.
Formations 12.31.2017: Christ(mas) Has Come!
December 24, 2017 by
On the Christian calendar—as opposed to the secular calendar by which stores began decking their halls shortly after Halloween—the Christmas season began on December 25th and will end twelve days later on January 5.
Formations 06.04.2017: Come, Holy Spirit
May 28, 2017 by
One of the oldest songs of Pentecost is Veni Creator Spiritus, attributed to the ninth-century monk and theologian Rabanus Maurus. This hymn to the Holy Spirit is traditionally sung on Pentecost and other occasions (ordinations, church dedications, etc.) to invoke God’s transforming power.