New chapters are exciting, but also a bit scary. Moving to college was an important step for me, and it was part of being able to do things on my own. The disciples face a new chapter of their own that begins in the book of Acts.
Catching a Glimpse
December 27, 2022 by
The first Christmas comes and goes, and most people don’t notice. Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, and a few others catch a glimpse of what is happening, but they’re just a handful.
Crossroads: You’re Not Perfect
October 31, 2022 by
As a first grader, I was a pretty big talker. I loved to talk to everyone about everything. And one day we had a fire drill at school. You were not supposed to talk during the fire drill, but I did.
Meditations on Luke: Forcing Our Way In
October 19, 2022 by
It would be hard to count the gallons of ink that have been spilled over the years trying to interpret verse 16. For one thing, the wording in the original Greek is terse and difficult to translate into an English equivalent. Beyond that, the phrase deals in imagery that is awkward and feels out of place.
Crossroads: Greed
August 8, 2022 by
As an only child for seven years, there have been times in my life when I wasn’t great at sharing. Even now, I want to make sure someone is going to take really good care of my stuff before I let them borrow anything.
Crossroads: The Good Samaritan
July 18, 2022 by
As a young teenager, I went with my youth group to a soup kitchen one Saturday morning to feed the homeless. Several of my friends were going, and I wanted to have fun with my friends.
Connections 07.24.2022: What God Gives
July 17, 2022 by
They say, “God only gives you what you can handle.” “They” like to say this when people around them are struggling.
Getting It All Together
May 18, 2022 by
Jesus’ boat lands on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee—no longer in Jewish territory. This is like landing in Cuba. Along the edge of the lake, tombs are cut into the mountain. The village graveyard is this land’s version of a mental institution.
Crossroads: Why We Baptize
January 10, 2022 by
I have loved Jesus for practically my whole life. I grew up in church, and we were there pretty much every time the church was open. At seven years old, I told Jesus that I wanted him to be my Savior and I was baptized.
Crossroads: Peace
December 13, 2021 by
Peace is a funny thing. We pray for peace in a world full of violence. We pray for peace in times of trouble. We pray for peace in times of stress. We pray for peace in times of worry. And at first glance, we think that peace means that our situation changes. The world puts down its weapons. Trouble ceases. Stress disappears.
Meditations on Luke: Our Given Identities
December 7, 2021 by
When my wife was pregnant with each of our daughters, we felt a degree of stress in coming up with names for them. For one thing, we didn’t want to offend anyone in our families of origin. Use names from only one side of the family and you may alienate folks on the other.
Meditations on Luke: The Last Laugh
August 18, 2021 by
The ministry of Jesus is such a ridiculous thing that it draws laughter. Everywhere he goes, he says and does things that are so out of step with what seems to be obvious reality that people think he is crazy. Imagine what the neighbors said when Jesus, somewhere around the age of thirty, walked away from his father’s vocation as a carpenter.
Crossroads: The Waiting Is Over!
December 28, 2020 by
Luke 2:22-40 Your Story Talk to your children about when they joined your family. Tell them how you felt as you first met them, when the wait was finally over. My Story and the Bible Story One Christmas as a child, I really wanted a toy called “GoGo My Walkin’ Pup.” She walked and barked, […]
Formations 03.08.2020: Love Your Enemies
March 1, 2020 by
I’ve got to confess, it’s hard to find a good current-event angle on Jesus’ words about love and non-retaliation during an election season!
Formations 12.29.2019: I Love to Tell the Story
December 22, 2019 by
I love the music ministry at my church. Our music minister is an accomplished choral director with a PhD, our accompanist is a highly trained organist and music scholar in her own right, and the church’s musical offerings are always top-notch.
Connections 10.27.2019: Too Good for Our Own Good
October 20, 2019 by
If you are of my generation, you probably know the song “Spirit in the Sky.” You may know it even if you aren’t of my generation. It’s been used in lots of movies, television shows, and commercials.
Crossroads: Doing What’s Right
August 26, 2019 by
Sometimes we lose sight of our purpose. We get so caught up in what we’re supposed to do and in the rules that we forget how much God helped people and how He calls us to help others.
Connections 08.25.2019: From Looking Down to Looking Out
August 18, 2019 by
Because of a back problem, the woman had been bent over for eighteen years. She had spent almost two decades looking at the ground and at people’s feet.
Connections 08.04.2019: Greed (Which Is Idolatry)
July 28, 2019 by
There’s a scene in the 1946 film It’s a Wonderful Life in which George Bailey asks Clarence the angel if he has any money. Clarence says, “No, we don’t use money in heaven.” George replies, “Well, it comes in real handy down here, bud!”
Formations 06.02.2019: God Made Us for a Purpose
May 26, 2019 by
When my daughter was three or four, she became fascinated with our church’s music minister and his “batond.” She had a little yellow fairy wand that she loved to wave around while she sang.
Connections 04.14.2019: From the Colt’s Journal
April 7, 2019 by
Nobody asked me if I wanted to participate. But I was used to such treatment. I was hanging out, munching some grain, minding my own business, when two fellows came along and took me.
A Fox and a Hen, a Lenten Devotion
March 19, 2019 by
Spending time on my grandparents’ farm in the summer was the highlight of my young life. My Granny and I would rise each morning and head to the chicken house to gather fresh eggs for breakfast. I learned to reach under the hens and remove 2 or 3 eggs, with great excitement!
Connections 12.30.2018: Growing Up
December 23, 2018 by
My younger daughter Natalie will be 12 years old in March. It’s a delicate age. She is just crossing the threshold into puberty, clinging to the joys of childhood while also confronting body changes and swinging emotions.
Formations 10.21.2018: Crossing the Threshold
October 14, 2018 by
There’s a scene in The Time Machine (MGM, 1960) that doesn’t appear in the H. G. Wells novel on which the movie is based. During a climactic battle in the far future, George, the time traveler (played by Rod Taylor), is finally reunited with his time machine.
Meditations on Luke: Maundy Thursday
March 29, 2018 by
These words, straight from Jesus’ lips, have a haunting tone. Jesus is fully aware of what is about to happen. Nothing about our Lord’s passion is an accident, a mistake, or a coincidence; it is all part of the Father’s plan, and Jesus knows it.
Meditations on Luke: A Judas Living Inside Each of Us
March 13, 2018 by
In his memoir Telling Secrets, writer and preacher Frederick Buechner tells about his childhood after his father committed suicide. In addition to the trauma of losing his dad was the grief of being forbidden to speak of what happened.
Meditations on Luke: “Do Not Be Afraid”
December 26, 2017 by
Over Christmas one of my daughters asked me a question. “Daddy, why is it that every time an angel shows up in the Bible, he always says, ‘Do not be afraid’?” I responded, “Well, what would you do if an angel suddenly appeared in your room one night?”
Crossroads: The Angel Candle/Candle of Love
December 25, 2017 by
Today we light the last purple candle. This candle is the angel candle, or the candle of love. This candle reminds us of the love God has shown us through Jesus.
Connections 12.31.2017: Jesus and the Elderly
December 24, 2017 by
I turned forty this year, and I’m grateful to be able to say that I still have one living set of grandparents. My father’s parents, known to me as Mom and Pop, are age eighty-three and ninety-three. They’ve been a huge part of my life since my birth.
Formations 12.24.2017: A Song of Joy and Sorrow
December 17, 2017 by
Because I live a few blocks from a hospital, ambulance sirens, and the occasional helicopter, form one pitch in that harmony of creation I hear. For what they signal—coming help and immediate danger—these sounds are above all interruptions demanding drivers to make way.
Connections 12.24.2017: When the Lord Is With You
December 17, 2017 by
If you ever hear an angel say, “The Lord is with you,” how should you respond? Let me suggest, “Uh oh!” In Mary’s case, the angel’s statement “The Lord is with you” meant “The Lord has a really difficult task for you.”
Crossroads: The Candle of Bethlehem/Peace
December 11, 2017 by
Welcome to the second week of Advent! This week, our focus lies on Mary and Joseph, a couple who were waiting for the changes that come with a big transition: a new baby.
Formations 12.17.2017: Robert Mugabe’s Legacy
December 10, 2017 by
On November 21, Robert Mugabe stepped down as president of Zimbabwe after thirty-seven years of rule. Following his country’s transition from British colonial rule (when it was called Rhodesia), Mugabe oversaw heavy investment in the nation’s social services.
Formations 12.03.2017: The Lights of Christmas
November 26, 2017 by
One of my favorite parts of Christmas is the lights. We deck our houses with tiny electric lights. We drape lights on Christmas trees. We go to services on Christmas Eve where the light of dozens of handheld candles bathes the sanctuary in a warm, amber glow.
Flame: The Calling of Levi with Colored Cards
September 19, 2017 by
We’re always trying different ways to tell stories in visual ways, so here is what we tried in our scaled-down summer group (3-11 years old). We told the story of Jesus calling Levi (Luke 5:27-32) using colored pieces of paper to represent the characters.
Crossroads: The Friend in the Night
July 17, 2017 by
My favorite word as a child was “why”. I know my mother got tired of me asking “Why?” all the time. I was a very curious child. In fact, as a small child, my mother had a hard time getting me to sleep. She said it seemed as if I always wanted to observe the world, to know what was going on.
On the Emmaus Road
April 26, 2017 by
What courage this pair of disciples shows on the way to Emmaus. When so many others have denied Jesus, fled, or locked themselves away, these two meet a stranger on the road outside of Jerusalem and freely declare themselves to be disciples of Jesus. Maybe it was the grief talking.
“Be Not Afraid”
January 24, 2017 by
A popular quote being passed around the internet says that no phrase appears in the Bible more times than “Be not afraid.” One version of the quote claims this phrase occurs 365 times, one for each day of the year. That’s a beautiful idea. Unfortunately, it’s not accurate.
Formations 12.25.2016: God Is Born and Don’t Own a Car
December 18, 2016 by
This week, after a month and some change of waiting, Christ comes. Luke introduces us to the one who brings hope, love, peace, and joy, the one we’ve come to call God, as an infant lying in a feeding trough.
Connections 12.25.2016: Ridiculousness
December 18, 2016 by
The whole thing seems ridiculous to me. God Almighty cares enough about this world and the people in it to come down and spend a few years in it and with them. And when God Almighty comes, it’s as a helpless baby who has to be protected, fed, and burped.
Connections 12.11.2016: The Upside Down
December 4, 2016 by
I came—and that I come—to Mary’s song as a person of privilege. My late parents would have scoffed at that statement. They worked in textile mills. They bought very used cars. We lived in a small, two-bedroom, one-bath house. But still—we never missed a meal, we always had decent clothes, and the house was warm and dry.
Connections 12.04.2016: Imagining the Details
November 27, 2016 by
This account about Mary unsettles me because it seems to leave out a few things. I remember, very early in my marriage, worrying about getting pregnant too soon. John and I were still adjusting to living in the same apartment.
Crossroads: The Lord’s Prayer
July 25, 2016 by
Jesus says to ask God for what we need. He tells us to be bold and ask! Here’s the thing: it never hurts to ask for something. You may ask your parents for a new Xbox One and they may say no.
His Heart Went Out to Her
June 8, 2016 by
There is this simple moment that is essential to my understanding of Jesus. Sometimes I think we see him as almost a miracle-working robot, the unstoppable antithesis of the Terminator. He was sent to our Earth to save, heal, and point others towards God.
Formations 06.12.2016: Grace at the End of the Line
June 5, 2016 by
Before beginning as an associate editor at Smyth & Helwys, I graduated from Mercer University. In the three weeks between finishing school and starting work, I gave up on productivity and chose to go fishing instead.
Connections 05.29.2016: What Zacchaeus Saw
May 22, 2016 by
Most people, if given the choice between being physically tall or financially and socially big, would go with the power. So Zacchaeus was big in the ways that most folks regard as important.
Formations 05.22.2016: Casting a Vision
May 15, 2016 by
One of the key skills of any leader is motivating his or her team, and there is no shortage of advice about how to do it. Much of this advice, however, though true, is also rather basic.
Connections 05.22.2016: Like a Child
May 15, 2016 by
My older daughter, Samantha, is eleven years old. Though reserved and quiet around new people, she is at least polite, and she becomes more animated when she gets to know them better. As a baby, though, her encounters with new people went a little differently.