Blog

Suffering well It’s not easy to suffer well. To get through a painful experience or a season of painful experiences. The ones who do are often people who used their time of suffering to serve and help others who were suffering in similar ways or had experienced some other kind of suffering. If we allowRead more

Loss of vision One of the greatest challenges of suffering in our world is not just the existence of suffering but in how to deal with it. So many of our attempts at avoiding or eliminating personal suffering is not simply because of the pain involved but the crippling ability of suffering to wipe outRead more

For those who have a difficult time reconciling how a good God could allow a world where suffering exists, I wrote this blog for you. I tried to avoid trite and unhelpful comments. Instead, I attempted to present this topic in ways that are constructive and lead to hopeful thinking. Of course, my word isRead more

In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, many people are asking… Why? These are anxious times. A crisis unfolds. A parent has died. A friend is terminally ill. A government official continues to fabricate. And we ask, Why? Why is this happening? Why me? Why us? Why now? And then our Whys turn into Hows and Whens.Read more

Did Jesus just call that woman a dog? Yes. But there’s more to the story. If you’re curious, read on. (Blog based on The Gospel of Matthew 15:21-28 & The Gospel of Mark 7:24-30).  The woman with the demonized daughter Like many of the stories of Jesus, what seemed like a chance meeting turned outRead more

Change Most churches, at least on the surface, teach that being a Christian involves an ongoing process of change. Changes like character development. Changes like growing productive daily habits. Changes like healthy behavioral patterns. Changes like meaningful church involvement. All good changes, right? But what about theological/spiritual beliefs? Should these ever change or evolve? That depends aRead more

As I finished New Year’s week reflecting on Jesus’s early life, I came across a passage about Jesus at the age of twelve. Hoping to take something away from it into my new year, I asked “What was Jesus like at the age of twelve?” Luke 2: 39-52 Wasn’t Jesus human too? One of theRead more

After the Holiday season is over, most of us return to the normal everyday routines of life. Getting back to life as usual can be reinvigorating but it can also sometimes feel a bit ordinary and plain. Even empty. But we push through it, hoping to find some kind of inspiration for the coming year.Read more

On the night of Jesus’s birth, there was no room in the… Sometimes I wonder if I’ve heard this story so many times that I’m missing the beauty of it this time of year. Christian churches over the last hundred years have created serene sets with nicely behaved animals and card companies put Hallmarkesque imagesRead more

Shame is a horrible feeling. Especially when you’re alone in it. That’s why when we hear someone else’s story of shame and how they worked through it, we can often identify with them. And that’s comforting because we realize we are not alone. There are many reasons people feel shame. But it is especially difficultRead more