Posts Categorized: Uncategorized

Unglued Church

Sustainable church Learning from the farm-to-table journey By Ayana Teter Several weeks ago, I was scanning the Netflix library in search of a thoughtful documentary and took a chance on one entitled Sustainable. It was a video essay that detailed one group’s perspective on the farm-to-table journey by highlighting the rich and deep relationships between those… Read more »

Wisdom Journey

If God is good, then why…? Confirmands play stump the pastor By Graham Standish   Too often we blame God for things we do to ourselves, for things others do to us, or for what others do to others. Then we credit ourselves for blessings that come from God, and others for the blessings that… Read more »

Speak Out

Out of Chaos By Becky Lindsay Who could have predicted That out of the chaos that was the Passion— The incident of betrayal by a brother, The apathy of somnolent friends, Denial and desertion by those dearest, The iterations of humiliations and hatred, The multiple occasions of accusations, The repetitions of rough-handling, Flailings, floggings with… Read more »

Not Quite Right

Judging our neighbors Franklin Graham, Pat Robertson and the aftermath of a storm By Joshua Bower It’s hard to see with a log in your eye. At least that’s what Jesus taught: With the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you… Read more »

Reflections from NEXT Church

Jesus of right here, right now Rediscovering the modern-day Christ By Robyn Davis Sekula   Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus of Mosul. Jesus of Baltimore. Jesus of Newark. It was a thunderbolt moment for me, the moment that Alonzo Johnson spoke these words aloud to those gathered for morning worship at NEXT Church national gathering in Kansas… Read more »

Wisdom journey

God’s grace Do we grab it or wait for it? By N. Graham Standish How God’s grace works is always a paradox. It’s a gift freely given that we have to go and get. And it’s a gift that we often have to sit and wait for. We have to passionately strive for it and… Read more »

Living in between

Why go it alone? Worship is not about the selfie By Abby King-Kaiser   When I was starting my first full time pastoring gig, I could not wait to work WITH people and plan worship. I could not have been more wrong about what planning worship would be like as a solo pastor, with emphasis… Read more »

Speak out

Beer fast for Lent? An unusual spiritual request By Ken Rummer The proposition took me by surprise. “Would you be my spiritual advisor?” J. Wilson, the editor of our weekly newspaper in Iowa had just been describing the medieval practice of certain monks who only drank beer during Lent, and how he, a home-brewer and self-described beer… Read more »

Meeting Jesus: Coming soon!

Meeting Jesus Experiencing Lent through the eyes of Bible characters The Presbyterians Today Lenten devotional Meeting Jesus by Jodi Craiglow shows us Jesus through the eyes of over 40 different Bible characters. Come alongside the characters who encountered him in different ways. Join us each day as we discover what they learned from their encounter…. Read more »

Wisdom Journey

Is today really that bad? Was yesterday really that good? By N. Graham Standish We tend to look at the past wistfully, the present critically, and the future fearfully. But as Christians we are called to look at life through a different lens. We are called to look at the past realistically, the present faithfully,… Read more »