She stopped eating and looked at me. “Are you serious?” She was more commenting than questioning. “Why would you go see a counselor? They don’t have any wisdom. They can’t help you. Are you depressed?”
Formations 04.23.2023: The Power of Belief
April 16, 2023 by
There is really no way to win an argument against someone’s faith. Atheists and agnostics and others have tried for centuries to discount the beliefs of those who follow Jesus.
Connections 10.30.2022: So Stay Faithful
October 23, 2022 by
If we think about just the past decade in our world, we might feel inclined to say with Habakkuk, “Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise.”
Formations 09.25.2022: Faith’s Foundation
September 18, 2022 by
I grew up in a small Southern Baptist church that felt like a safe place to ask questions, express doubts, and wonder about the Christian faith. Even so, our leaders encouraged a firm foundation.
Crossroads: By Faith, pt 2
August 22, 2022 by
Tell your family’s story of faith. If your ancestors were immigrants, your family faith story may begin with something like “by faith my great-great-great grandparents left the home and land they knew and came to America in search of a better life.”
Crossroads: By Faith, pt 1
August 15, 2022 by
As Christians, we believe in what we cannot see. We cannot see God, but we know He is there. But believing in God and becoming a Christian makes a take a leap of faith; because we cannot see God but we believe anyway. We have faith in a lot of things.
Connections 08.07.2022: By Faith
July 31, 2022 by
How many times in your life have you taken on a new venture, stepped into an unfamiliar experience, or made a decision that seemed like a choice between two undesirable paths?
Between What We Dreamed and What We Got
July 27, 2022 by
After all those years of stumbling around in the middle of nowhere, dealing with all the conflict and controversy of his contrary constituency, you’d like to think that Moses would get to lead the parade into the land of promise.
Stay Grounded in Faith
July 5, 2022 by
The other day I went fly-fishing with a clergy colleague, Vern Collins, and a bishop with a reputation, Will Willimon. We went down to Boone Fork River to fish the waters surrounding Watauga County and found ourselves lost to the outside world.
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 View from the Pew: Deconstruction is Only Half of the Job
February 23, 2022 by
A friend and mentor I quote often liked to say he was “unencumbered by a theological education.” That joke has always resonated with me.
Lost in Maples
November 30, 2021 by
They wander, these children of mine. They wander and they wonder, and then boom, you take them out of their comfort zone and here comes the whining.
Education Is a Faith Issue
August 3, 2021 by
School starts back soon, and my friend Molly Wright visited Stephanie and me in Boone this week. She has been a dear friend since high school, when she was the cool senior who gave me (the lowly freshman) rides home in her Jeep Cherokee.
Responding to the Apollo 13 Miracle
July 13, 2021 by
We hear a lot about miracles today, and there is a large volume of work addressing the subject—more than I could address in this book. In my experience on the Lunar Module team during Apollo 13, I felt moved in a special way by what I felt was answered prayer and the miraculous recovery of the crew.
Crossroads: The Storms of Life
June 28, 2021 by
I was always terrified of storms as a child. The thunder scared me the most, and my mom could never convince me that the thunder couldn’t hurt me.
Crossroads: I Doubt It
April 12, 2021 by
When I was a child, we always played a game called “I doubt it” when we went on vacation. It was a card game and the point was to be the person who got rid of all of their cards first.
Faith, a Prayer for Epiphany
January 6, 2021 by
God of life,
God of all our becoming
winding
changing
hopeful
fearful years—
we praise you
for your faithfulness.
Connections 08.30.2020: Hindsight Assurance, Foresight Faith
August 23, 2020 by
We can imagine how awe-inspiring God’s revelation at the burning bush must have been for Moses. We might also be fascinated at the way Moses falls into a conversation with God during this awe-inspiring experience.
Hard Grace
April 29, 2020 by
It was extremely important for the church of my youth to prove that every single miracle in the Bible be proven as an historical and scientific fact. A literal seven day creation, the parting of the Red Sea, Joshua making the sun stand still, and of course, there was the story of “Jonah and the Whale.”
A View from the Pew: Family vs. Faith Traditions on Christmas Eve
December 24, 2019 by
There are two kinds of families in this world: those who open gifts on Christmas Eve and those who wait until Christmas morning. I have been blessed to have been a part of both.
Connections 07.07.2019: Our Faith, Their Health
June 30, 2019 by
Naaman was the general in charge of Syria’s army. He was important and powerful. He also had a disease. Because Naaman was important and powerful, he had servants.
Faith Postures: Noticing Our (God-repaired) Selves
February 6, 2019 by
Sometimes I mistakenly read the Bible like a Jane Austen book. Life seems so simple in Pride and Prejudice or in Sense and Sensibility; the good people are good, the bad people are bad, and everyone knows who is who.
Connections 02.10.2019: A Mature Belief
February 3, 2019 by
Like Paul, I have grown as a believer—though maybe in a less dramatic fashion. I was born into the church and attended faithfully throughout my childhood and young adult years. Though I faced plenty of doubt and uncertainty about the things I learned, I can look back now and realize that I was devoutly Christian.
The Rhythm of a Faith-Filled Life
December 5, 2018 by
The faith-filled life has a rhythm to it. We ask, seek, proclaim what we learn, and then learn to ask anew. When I worked at an agency for youth in the state foster care system, this rhythm became our familiar soundtrack.
Connections 09.09.2018: More than Thoughts and Prayers
September 2, 2018 by
Over the past few years, numerous tragedies across the globe have torn at our hearts. From school shootings to natural disasters to war violence, we hear about specific events and feel helpless. We may cry. We may get angry. We may look the other way. All of these reactions indicate how helpless we feel to make things right.
Spiritual but Not Religious
August 29, 2018 by
Many would say, to use a modern phrase, that Lincoln was “spiritual but not religious.” Such a posture should be celebrated as an expression of heartfelt belief and longing, but it should also be considered with a word of caution.
Connections 03.04.2018: Déjà Vu Faith
February 25, 2018 by
Sometimes when I experience déjà vu, it seems like it’s happened before. But seriously, folks: I’ve had many occurrences of déjà vu, which is the sensation of remembering being in a place or situation that you’ve never been in before. So you might walk into a restaurant in a city you’ve not previously visited and feel like you’ve seen it before.
Faith and Science
February 22, 2018 by
Every great once in a while, my father, the late great Champ Ruffin, would decide it was time to get a new used car. He had one main criterion for any vehicle he purchased: it had to have four doors. The reason was that we transported “the ladies” (as he called them) to church every Sunday.
Formations 11.19.2017: Faith and Violence
November 12, 2017 by
Herod Agrippa I was the grandson of Herod the Great and a nephew of Herod Antipas. The book of Acts remembers him mainly as a persecutor of the early church. Somewhat like the Apostle Paul, this king’s zeal for the law was apparently what drove him to persecute the church.
Connections 03.12.2017: Just Believe?
March 5, 2017 by
Paul spent a lot of mental energy writing about faith versus works. Having studied some of the history of his time, I understand why this was so important. The new Christian movement broke into a centuries-old religion that relied on sacrifices, rituals, and strict adherence to the laws of the Pentateuch—the first five books of the Old Testament.
An Advent Prayer
December 7, 2016 by
O God,
As you come to us, please come bearing faith, hope, and love.
We need to trust, hope, and love more.
Connections 10.09.2016: One Foundation
October 2, 2016 by
The church I attend is brand new. We became official in spring 2015. Our name is new, our sign is new, and our hymnals are new. Our bylaws are new. We’re so new that our mission is still evolving. But we have a history that stretches backward much longer than eighteen months.
An Open Letter to My Mental Illness
May 18, 2016 by
I suffer from a mental illness. At times, it can be crippling and debilitating. I just spent some time in the hospital dealing with my illness. One of the doctors knew I was a divinity student and Christian minister and asked me, “Have you lost your faith?”
Connections 03.06.2016: Powerful Faith
February 28, 2016 by
I’ve kept a prayer journal for years. Somewhere along the way, I started writing down the Jesus Prayer as the first line of my daily entry: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
Satellite or Star
October 28, 2015 by
My eyes drew open a little after 4:30 this morning. The alarm wasn’t supposed to go off for another hour and a half, but I was awake. Though I knew I could go back to sleep, I also knew that I probably would wake up feeling more groggy than I did at that moment.
Connections is Coming!
July 29, 2015 by
Beginning with the January–April 2016 trimester, the Uniform Bible Study series will become Connections. You may wonder what will change besides the name. Well, not much—at least not right away.
Praying Scared
June 9, 2015 by
Usually when we think of persons who pray, we imagine great women and men of faith. Cue the climactic music. They sound like an elite group of believers and are known to some as “prayer warriors.”
Passing the Scroll
April 28, 2015 by
Some folks who teach young people wonder if their efforts are worthwhile. It can be difficult to stay focused on a scriptural text when teenagers are preoccupied with the latest gossip regarding what happened over the weekend, who likes who, and so on.
Uniform 05.03.2015: Walk in the Truth
April 26, 2015 by
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.
Becoming a Church
March 3, 2015 by
Peter Pan premieres at the box office. Eisenhower becomes President of the United States. The Korean War ends. These events all occurred in 1953, the same year that a church plant was created.
Faith: Barricaded and Buried
December 31, 2014 by
A few weeks ago I read that doomsday shelters are making a big comeback. Now, I’ve never been in one of these safe havens, but I am told they were all the rage fifty years ago.
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).
Formations 11.09.2014: Struggling to Believe
November 2, 2014 by
Jude is undoubtedly harsh against false teachers who threaten the spiritual health of his communities. This doesn’t mean, however, that he doesn’t have a pastoral side.
Why Did God Call Me?
October 2, 2014 by
I had the privilege of preaching recently on the well-known Exodus Chapter 3 passage about Moses and the burning bush. You know the one. Moses is happy in obscurity, herding his father-in-law’s sheep when—BOOM!—God appears to Moses as a burning bush in the wilderness.
Circle of Faith
August 26, 2014 by
A few months ago, we met a woman in her fifties from a neighboring prefecture who had come to visit Kanazawa Baptist Church, where we worship and work. We learned from our pastor that this woman’s father was a longtime church member, but had been in and out of the hospital and was nearing death.
A Guide to Four Types of Bible Study Learners – Mark Wingfield
August 13, 2014 by
Have you heard the story about a time long, long ago, in a faraway place, when adults gathered for Bible study and everyone in the class studied the same thing at the same time and learned the same way? Yeah, that day is gone—if it ever really existed.
What Jesus Means to Me – Daniel Vestal
January 13, 2014 by
Years ago I read the story from E. Stanley Jones, the esteemed Methodist evangelist, about his first sermon. He was 17 years old, and he was delivering it to his home church. Early in the sermon he fumbled with some words, and a lady on the second pew chuckled.