He is risen! He is risen indeed! Easter is such a wonderful time. The dark, somber mourning of Good Friday has passed and in its place is new life, lots of color, and thankful spirits. The best part of our story as Christians is that we are not grave people—we are resurrection people.
Formations 04.16.2023: Where to Begin?
April 9, 2023 by
The title of this unit is “Easter and Onward.” For the last two weeks, we’ve approached and finally arrived at “Easter.” This week we get to the “Onward.”
Crossroads: Our Wisdom vs. God’s Wisdom
September 19, 2022 by
There are many instances in my childhood where logic got me into trouble. It usually began with me saying “I told you so” and you can guess that it didn’t end well.
Crossroads: The Empty Tomb
April 18, 2022 by
I’ve believed in Jesus for as long as I can remember. I was in church almost from the moment I was born, and I don’t remember believing anything different.
Formations 04.17.2022: Views of the Tomb
April 10, 2022 by
It may be tough to find something new to say about this familiar passage. I wonder, though, if we don’t do a disservice to our students—and to the text—by looking for novelty rather than resting in wonder.
Connections 04.17.2022: The Mystery of Faith
April 10, 2022 by
As we edge toward Easter, the coming springtime and the celebration of new life seems almost absurd alongside the constant barrage of disruption, distraction, and disunity in the world around us.
A Wild & Precious Easter
April 5, 2022 by
I had the opportunity to go on a much-needed vacation last week with my husband to sunny Key West. Because he had looked forward to this for weeks, he immediately wanted to book some excursions. We settled on a jet ski tour around the island and a boat trip that included snorkeling in the middle of the ocean.
Crossroads: What Just Happened?
April 5, 2021 by
I cannot tell you the number of times that I have said, “Wait. What just happened?”
Crossroads: Good Friday, A World in Ruins
March 29, 2021 by
Have you ever had a week start off well, but by the end of it all hope seems lost? Terrible things happen all at once, and you just aren’t sure how you’re going to make it another hour, let alone another day.
Formations 04.04.2021: Change of Plans
March 28, 2021 by
Have you ever put a lot of effort into a task and then not gotten to do it? Maybe you did a ton of research.
Truth Beneath the Ashes
February 16, 2021 by
Several years ago in Waco, TX, a couple hundred of us gathered for a crack-of-dawn Ash Wednesday service led by a team of seminary students. All kinds of folk—Baylor students, doctors, construction workers, grandparents—gathered at the shoreline of Lent, sleepy-eyed and somber.
Connections 04.26.2020: What Things?
April 19, 2020 by
Cleopas and his companion know what has happened. They know the facts. They are talking about those facts as they trudge the seven miles from Jerusalem to Emmaus.
God’s Work in Darkness
April 14, 2020 by
In movies and media today, savvy viewers know to look for “Easter eggs.” Reminiscent of the egg hunts we experienced as children, movie directors and software creators offer these Easter eggs as inside jokes.
Formations 04.19.2020: On the Threshold of Resurrection
April 12, 2020 by
Liminality is a word anthropologists use to describe experiences that happen on life’s borderlands. Coming from the Latin word for “threshold,” a liminal experience involves crossing from one state to another.
Flame: Palm Sunday Spinner
April 7, 2020 by
We are getting into Easter planning mode at the moment and needed something a bit different for Palm Sunday. This is a great activity because somehow the hosanna appears on the palm leaf. The children love watching the trick of the eye happen!
Connections 04.12.2020: The Risen Christ
April 5, 2020 by
I listen to a podcast called “Gone.” In each episode, hosts Richard and Molly discuss something or someone that went missing and has never been found. One of the podcast’s taglines is, “Just because something is gone, [it] doesn’t mean it can’t be found.”
Formations 04.12.2020: Giving Things Up for Lent
April 5, 2020 by
John places Jesus’ “cleansing of the temple” near the beginning of his Gospel rather than at the end, as the Synoptic Gospels do. In John, this symbolic act foreshadows the many controversies that Jesus will face and that will eventually end with the crucifixion.
Crossroads: He Is Risen!
April 22, 2019 by
He is risen! He is risen indeed! Easter is such a wonderful time. The dark, somber mourning of Good Friday has passed and in its place is new life, lots of color, and thankful spirits. The best part of our story as Christians is that we are not grave people—we are resurrection people.
Crossroads: Good Friday
April 19, 2019 by
Have you ever had a week start off well, but by the end of it all hope seems lost? Terrible things happen all at once, and you just aren’t sure how you’re going to make it another hour, let alone another day. We’ve all had bad weeks and perhaps you have had a week so terrible that you just couldn’t go another step.
Easter Sunday Isn’t Like the Others
April 17, 2019 by
The long Lenten journey to the cross and ultimately the empty tomb is nearly finished, and Easter is just around the corner.
Formations 04.21.2019: Go and Tell
April 14, 2019 by
I believe in evangelism; I’m just not very good at it. I might attribute my aversion to sharing the gospel to my introverted nature or to my general Midwestern hesitance to open up about the things that matter most to me.
Connections 04.21.2019: Leaving the Tomb Behind
April 14, 2019 by
When a loved one dies, their absence is so intense that it can feel like a presence. Somehow, the space their body used to take up still seems to hold them.
A View from the Pew: Worship at Sunrise
April 18, 2017 by
Just a few days ago we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus on the holiest day on the church calendar with a number of traditions that we reserve for this special day. There were flower crosses, lilies, white cloths draping crosses, and boisterous singing of “He Lives!” “Up from the Grave He Arose,” and “Christ the Lord is Risen Today.”
Formations 04.23.2017: Sitting a While with Thomas
April 16, 2017 by
According to a new survey, fully one-fourth of British people who identify themselves as Christian say they do not believe in the resurrection of Jesus. Hobson urges a certain degree of restraint in our responses to such people. After all, our universal human experience is that dead people stay dead. To say otherwise flies in the face of all that we know about how the world works.
Formations 04.16.2017: In Graves and Gardens
April 9, 2017 by
As I’ve been asking who needs to hear my story of Easter joy, I’ve come up against another question—what story of Easter joy do I need to hear? And what I hear reminds me of a ghost story I first heard as a seventh grader.
Connections 04.16.2017: The Gardener
April 9, 2017 by
When the ordinary meets the extraordinary, chances are pretty good that the ordinary will try to cut the extraordinary down to size. It’s understandable. After all, we’re limited by our experience, and our experience is mighty limited.
Crossroads: He Is Risen!
March 28, 2016 by
He is risen! He is risen indeed! Easter is such a wonderful time. The dark, somber mourning of Good Friday has passed and in its place is new life, lots of color, and thankful spirits.
Experiencing Cotton Patch Moments
March 23, 2016 by
Although long a fan of Clarence Jordan’s Cotton Patch Gospel translation that recasts Jesus in the southern part of the United States in the middle of the 20th Century, it still took some time to develop even a hint of Jordan’s prophetic vision.
A View from the Pew: Ready for Easter
March 22, 2016 by
Nothing throws off our seasonal awareness like an early Easter. It’s a seasonal version of what we experience with daylight savings. We’re not quite sure how to feel and everything about our celebration can seem just a little off.
Crossroads: Palm Sunday
March 21, 2016 by
I love celebrations. In particular, I love birthdays. I love finding the perfect present and celebrating who that person is. I love my birthday as well, but it’s always a little odd to me.
Formations 03.27.2016: Risen Offers a Unique Perspective on Easter
March 20, 2016 by
Easter is a story Christians tell year after year—whether or not Hollywood finds the story marketable, and whether or not Hollywood retellings of the story are “rotten” or “certified fresh.”
Connections 03.27.2016: The First to Know
March 20, 2016 by
When I was seventeen, my church put on an Easter play that one of our members wrote, paraphrasing directly from various Scripture accounts of Jesus’ last week, his death, and his resurrection.
That Dark Thursday Night: A Maundy Thursday Reading
April 2, 2015 by
“Go into the city,” he said. “A friend of mine will show you a large, upper room, furnished and ready.” Strange. Peter and I rounded a corner and there, coming out of a narrow alley was a man we didn’t know, but he looked at us as if we were expected.
Formations 04.05.2015: Easter Faith
March 29, 2015 by
The resurrection of Jesus is Christianity’s greatest story. It is the event that set in motion everything believers hold to as distinctively Christian.
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.
A View from the Pew: The Resurrection Applies to Chreasters, Too
March 25, 2015 by
The Resurrection is for everyone. Infrequent attendance at worship services does not exclude a person from accessing the hope of the risen Jesus Christ. But for consistent church attenders, high holy days such as Christmas and Easter can create a sense of protective exclusion.
Crossroads: Train Up a Child
March 23, 2015 by
I loved going to church as a child. I loved Sunday school, VBS, choir, worship, and everything else I went to. I wanted to be there every time the doors were open.
Uniform 03.29.2015: Whom Do We Celebrate?
March 22, 2015 by
A couple of weeks ago, cities all over the nation celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with parades. People wore varying shades of green, and some dressed like leprechauns. Four-leaf clovers were everywhere.
In Pursuit of the Spirit: Practicing Lent
March 11, 2015 by
I’m in the process of (slowly) reading The Art of Family and Everyday Spirituality by Gina Bria. I’m not very far along, but the way in which Bria speaks about the role of family has captured my imagination.
Crossroads: Never Again
February 23, 2015 by
How many times have we said “never again?” I’ll never eat there again. I won’t eat THAT again. I’ll never lie again. I’ll never go there again. I’ll never stay there again. We tend to say “never again” a lot.
A View from the Pew: Doing ‘Sorry’
February 18, 2015 by
Whether or not you have ashes dabbed on your forehead this Wednesday, the season of Lent presents an opportunity to do more than say “I’m sorry.” The season of Lent is a chance to engage in active repentance.
Thrive: The Gift of Acknowledgement – Amy Shorner-Johnson
December 15, 2014 by
During the Christmas season, we often talk about loneliness and remembering those who are marginalized, those who might also feel abandoned as they get lost or overlooked.
Crossroads: Recognizing and Remembering
June 23, 2014 by
My father lives in the same small town where I grew up as a child. Though I moved away more than 25 years ago, I enjoy going back to this community to visit a few times each year. When we go back for these visits, I often see people around town who our family has known for many years.
Be an Easter Person All Year Long
April 23, 2014 by
What do we do, after Easter? Can we really just walk away from the whole experience, putting away the stuff of Easter and going back to business as usual? Doesn’t it mean more to us than that?
A View from the Pew: Dressing for Success … in Worship
April 22, 2014 by
It is news to no one that church culture has shifted radically in recent years in most every area, from worship style to attendance. One such cultural move is toward more casual fashion choices by church goers. Only the most traditional of us pew sitters insist on wearing “Sunday clothes” anymore.
Crossroads: Jesus is Risen
April 20, 2014 by
Once upon a time I had a young friend named Philip. Philip was born with Downs Syndrome. He was a pleasant child—happy, it seemed—but increasingly aware of the difference between himself and other children. Philip went to Sunday school at the Methodist church.
A Meditation for Good Friday – Amy Butler
April 17, 2014 by
I had the strangest experience just a few weeks ago. I’d been asked to participate in the funeral of a woman I did not know well; she grew up at my church, Calvary, and I knew her family from a couple of chances we’d had to be together.
Formations 04.20.2014: TV Show Asks Us to Consider the Possibility of Resurrection
April 13, 2014 by
ABC’s mid-season replacement series Resurrection invites viewers to consider what would happen if their loved ones came back from the dead. The series premiere introduces us to Jacob, an eight-year-old boy who wakes up in a field in China after having died thirty-two years previously.