I am a terrible liar. I’m really bad at it. I tried to lie about not talking during the fire drill when I was in the first grade (I definitely talked during the fire drill) and I got in trouble for lying.
Connections 06.12.2022: The Spirit of Unfinished Business
June 5, 2022 by
There are times in our lives when we feel the despair of the psalmist crying “How long, O Lord?” (Ps 13:1) and the urgency of the visionary praying “Come quickly, Lord Jesus” (Rev 22:20).
Connections 06.05.2022: The Holy Spirit
May 29, 2022 by
As a young child in church, I heard a lot of talk about the Holy Spirit. Sometimes this mysterious figure was called the “Holy Ghost,” making it more mysterious and even a little scary.
Faith Postures: Noticing When We Obstruct Christ
October 12, 2021 by
I did something one weekend of which I am ashamed. I did something I can never take back and something for which I can never be sure of the ramifications.
Spiritual Growth: Polishing the Cup or Growing in Love?
October 5, 2021 by
People enter into the process of spiritual direction for many reasons, and sometimes it takes time and deep listening for me to discern the motivation. “Remember,” a mentor once cautioned, “the real director is the Holy Spirit. Our job is to discern the direction the Holy Spirit is wanting to guide the directee and cooperate with that.”
Crossroads: The Armor of God
August 30, 2021 by
Have you ever seen some of the equipment that comes with playing sports? Football players put on helmets, chin guards, mouth guards, cleats, and shoulder pads in order to protect themselves when they play.
Crossroads: The Spirit
May 24, 2021 by
When I write my children’s sermons, I have a process. Usually, I read the Scripture, think about it for a few minutes, and then go do something else.
The Wind and the Spirit
March 23, 2021 by
What would you do differently if you could start over? What would you change if you could be born again? If I could edit my life, I would skip junior high football, wrecking my father’s car, and the last five minutes of my first date. I would stop my mother throwing away my baseball cards.
In Pursuit of the Spirit: Remembering the Saints
October 28, 2020 by
October has never been my favorite month. It always opens with such promise and warmth, and then ends with a blustery quickness that is downright abrasive.
Formations 05.24.2020: Receiving the Spirit
May 17, 2020 by
I had just finished my sermon on the Holy Spirit and the ways God empowers us to participate with God in ushering in the kingdom.
Formations 06.09.2019: “I Will Send the Spirit”
June 2, 2019 by
In the 1992 song “Anthem,” Leonard Cohen offered these now classic words: “There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” The insight comes lyrically through the acknowledgment of liminal spaces—birdsong in the morning or peacetime between war.
Formations 05.27.2018: Live by the Spirit
May 20, 2018 by
Unlike many friends and most of my family, I don’t consider myself a news junkie. Mostly, I limit my news intake to one podcast each morning. I trust it to tell me what I need to know…
Broken Spirits and Dry Bones
May 15, 2018 by
We have a friend in the Bible named Isaiah. God was looking for someone to deliver some hard words to God’s people. Isaiah had an incredible encounter with God involving an angel and some coal (Isa 6). And after this experience, he told the Lord “I’ll go, send me.”
Formations 05.20.2018: The Common Spirit
May 6, 2018 by
A few weeks back, driving home from work, the truck in front of me kicked up rainbows from the leftover rainwater. I’d seen rainbows cast by sprinklers over St. Augustine but never by tires against asphalt. Then we crossed the first hill, my angle of view changed, and the rainbows disappeared.
Crossroads: The Presence of the Holy Spirit
June 5, 2017 by
Several years ago on a weekend retreat, I gathered with a group of teenagers in a dimly lit room to share an Agape Love Feast. Earlier, we had set up the room with candles, a plate of bread, and a large cup of grape juice. Before we entered the room, all of us took off our shoes and made a commitment to be silent as we entered.
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.
A Spirit Prayer
March 1, 2017 by
O God, Thank you for your Spirit that is with us, within us, and among us.
Thank you for the spirit that we are.
Thank you for the spirit of your creation.
Formations 01.22.2017: Asking Paul’s Questions
January 15, 2017 by
In John Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of Wrath, the first person Tom Joad meets after leaving prison and hitching a ride with a truck driver is Jim Casy. Joad finds him lying against a willow tree, whistling, and recognizes him as the preacher.
Crossroads: Waiting
June 13, 2016 by
Have you ever had to wait for something that you were sure was going to happen? You wait with nervous anticipation, excited and scared at the same time. I went to Paris when I was 16.
In Pursuit of the Spirit: God in the Midst
February 10, 2016 by
We hear about or meet people who meditate for forty-five minutes each morning in total silence, people who spend half an hour in prayer every day, or read their Bible regularly, and those of us with busy lives, and busy minds, think wouldn’t that be nice?
Formations 10.11.2015: Finding Joy
October 4, 2015 by
Where do you find joy in life? It’s easy to find joy while watching a sunrise or baking cookies or watching a favorite movie, but how about at work? Where can we find joy in the midst of our humdrum daily existence?
Uniform 09.06.2015: Praying for One Another
August 30, 2015 by
In a song of my generation, the singer pleads, “Tell me what you want and I’ll give you what you need.” I’ve learned over the years that my prayers often go like that—I ask God for what I want and God gives me what I need.
Uniform 05.17.2015: The Spirit Creates One Body
May 10, 2015 by
J. R. Ewing was shot in his office at Ewing Oil on March 21, 1980 by an unseen and thus unknown assailant. Millions of Americans would spend the next eight months pondering and debating the question “Who shot J. R.?”
Formations 05.10.2015: Standing on the Threshold
May 3, 2015 by
A few weeks ago, I received yet another grim reminder that I am getting old. (For some reason, my wife is doing just fine while I lose ground by the minute!) I attended an orientation for rising ninth-graders at my daughter’s school.
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.
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 03.03.2015: Baptized by the Spirit
February 22, 2015 by
Do you have a baptism story? I do. I was ten, and I remember facing my baptism with a mixture of excitement and dread.
In Pursuit of the Spirit: A New Year’s Practice
January 13, 2015 by
I don’t like New Year’s resolutions. Nope, never mind, that’s a lie. I love New Year’s resolutions. I relish the opportunity to dream about beginning new habits that will eventually shape me into a new, improved version of myself.
In Pursuit of the Spirit: Picking Our Way Through Advent
December 3, 2014 by
Our son, Caleb, will turn three a few days after Christmas this year. For the first two years of his life, we didn’t worry too much about holiday traditions, recognizing that he was too little to understand or remember much.
Formations 10.26.2014: Serving Together
October 19, 2014 by
We will never understand spiritual gifts if we don’t see how they relate to the church. Paul is adamant that the purpose of the gifts is “the common good” (1 Cor 12:7).
In Pursuit of the Spirit: Spiritual Formation with Toddlers (Or Lectio in Nature)
October 7, 2014 by
After a freezing first winter in Chicago (frequently described as Chiberia), and bipolar summer (hot and humid one day, cold and rainy the next), I am feeling particularly grateful for the beautiful fall we’ve been having recently.
Formations 10.12.2014: Teamwork
October 5, 2014 by
A team of students from Cincinnati’s Mason neighborhood has distinguished itself in creativity and problem-solving. The Global Finals of Destination Imagination, or DI for short, was held last May in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Formations 10.05.2014: Who Benefits from Gifted Education?
September 28, 2014 by
Who benefits most from elementary-school gifted programs? According to a study from two economics professors, it isn’t the students with the highest IQs but those with more average IQs but high standardized test scores.
In Pursuit of the Spirit: The Search for Sabbath in a Busy Life
September 9, 2014 by
I recently started working at a local church as their Church School Coordinator, and while the job will soon be just ten hours a week, for the past three weeks it has been closer to forty hours a week.
In Pursuit of the Spirit: Spirituality and Politics
August 6, 2014 by
Our church community has been struggling with questions of spirituality and politics over the past few months. At our most recent General Assembly, the Presbyterian Church (USA) made some controversial decisions.
In Pursuit of the Spirit
July 8, 2014 by
For a period of time, I owned the domain www.holygoosepoop.com. Although I never did anything with it, and I eventually let it lapse, I thought it would make a good site for a spirituality blog.