Loving the Bible for what it is, not what I want it to be January 2, 2012, by Rachel Held Evans My relationship with the Bible has been a lot like that of a daughter to her parents. I’ve been through the happy, childlike dependency stage, the one where I believed the Bible was impenetrable, [...]
Frederick Buechner: “Christmas Itself Is by Grace”
28 Dec by
Some writers take my breath away. Whenever I read Frederick Buechner, I can’t stop gasping for air. Buechner is simply one of our best American authors. You can see his biography HERE, at the Buechner Institute’s website. Born in 1926, young Frederick experienced a tragic and profoundly formative event when his father committed suicide. After [...]
David Lose on “The Absurdity of Christmas”
27 Dec by
David Lose holds The Marbury E. Anderson Chair in Biblical Preaching at Luther Seminary, where he also serves as the Director of the Center for Biblical Preaching. David led the creative team that developed Working Preacher, one of my favorite resources on the Internet. There he writes a weekly column on the upcoming lectionary texts. He [...]
Christianity In America: A Crisis, or, The Evangelical Emperor Has No Clothes (as found on your library shelf)
15 Dec by
A few weeks—ok, months—ago I started writing on what I see in general when I look at today’s evangelical church in America. I called the series The Naked Emperor. I have been kept from revisiting this by work and illness and … oh, lots of things. I do plan to finish what I started, but [...]
Dissident Discipleship: A Book Overview
15 Dec by
Recently I read the book Dissident Discipleship by David Augsburger. He wrote it in 2006, but I think his topic is evergreen: What makes someone a true disciple of Jesus? Augsburger tells it from an Anabaptist perspective. Once we give assent to Christ’s lordship, recognize the necessity for and effectiveness of his shed blood to atone [...]
A Simple, Winsome Intro to Advent
6 Dec by
Discovering Advent: How to Experience the Power of Waiting on God at Christmastime, by Mark D. Roberts ✓ Ebook available from Amazon or Barnes & Noble • • • Mark D. Roberts blogs on Patheos at his site, “Reflections on Christ, Church, and Culture.” Over the years, he has become an admitted “Adventophile,” and his [...]
Update: Tod Bolsinger thinks now is not the time for “chaplain” pastors
5 Dec by
Tod Bolsinger disagrees with Mark Galli. In a post on his blog, Bolsinger writes, “We Need Chaplains…Just not More Of Them…Not Now.” He says he is right there with Galli when it comes to critiquing the megachurch model and the corporate-style leadership such congregations have. “If leader means “someone who makes the organization grow in [...]
In Praise of the “Chaplain” Pastor
4 Dec by
Mark Galli is speaking my language (again). Every pastor and church leader needs to read his article, “Why We Need More ‘Chaplains’ and Fewer Leaders.” Much to my personal dismay, “chaplain” is apparently a dirty word — at least to those who claim to know what makes a good leader in a healthy church. Mark [...]
A Witness to Vulgar Grace
29 Nov by
The following is from Brennan Manning’s memoir, All Is Grace: A Ragamuffin Memoir. Drink deep and savor. This is the good stuff. My life is a witness to vulgar grace — a grace that amazes as it offends. A grace that pays the eager beaver who works all day long the same wage as the [...]
Finding Ourselves in Jesus
25 Nov by
Finding Ourselves in Jesus Why We Observe the Christian Year • • • During this Advent season, I will be using Walter Wangerin Jr.’s book, Preparing for Jesus, for daily readings to prepare my heart for the celebration of Jesus’ birth. As I was looking at it the other day, I was taken immediately by [...]
