I absolutely believe that most churches long to be welcoming to first-time guests and new attendees. But there is a gaping chasm between having a desire to reach people and doing the things that must be done to reach people. Here is a dare, if you will: Ask yourself these 14 questions. Some of them are […]

We see Jesus rising up early: Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.  Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!” Mark 1:35-37 Jesus […]

They came to John the Baptist with a report of Jesus baptizing. “All are going to Him,” they observed. This itinerate preacher who made his home among reeds and wild goats listened and then replied. “You heard me saying from the start that I am not the One. Don’t expect me to be anything other […]

The second chapter of the Gospel of John contains two very different stories about the early years of Jesus ministry: A wedding feast where earthen vessels used for bath water became scared decanters of divine creation. Then, seemingly out of the blue, the narrative shifts to a sudden altercation in the bustling market of temple […]

On the Day of Atonement, a priest would lay his hands on a goat and place the sins of the entire nation. After this solemn act the scapegoat, would be led into the wilderness. Jesus, the one who would bear the sins of the world, was also led into the wilderness for forty days and […]

There was John and then there was Jesus. John couldn’t be categorized as anything but completely, radically, undeniably committed. His calling and mission propelled him into the vortex of the Jesus story.  What do you call a man who wears camel’s skin and a belt? How do you explain a consistent diet of wild honey and […]

They up and left for Egypt and parts unknown. Jesus disappears from the pages of scripture. We do have one curious story. Maybe Mary and Jospeh forgot him or they just didn’t notice that he wasn’t with him until they reached the ancient exit ramp outside the walls of the Holy City. Even that story […]

As a stealth and sinister conspirator, he sent his henchman into the city of promise. He orchestrated the visceral wails of young mothers. The horsemen of the holocaust… Their hooves crushing the hearts of the mothers. Cruelty felt palpable that horrid night. I’d rather skip this story. There’s nothing good in all the unspeakable, gratuitous […]

Jesus was born. Yes, this is where the greatest adventure commenced and yet the beginning can only be described as “before.” Before war, before cities, before language, before thought… Jesus was there. Spirit moving over the face of the deep. Jesus began before the shout of angels outside Bethlehem’s borders. But his story expanded far […]