Tagged with witness

Home From My Retreat

What do you call it when you come back from a retreat? — an attack? Well, technically, I wasn’t on a retreat. I was at the 2010 Academy of Missional Preaching (Southwest). But it was held at the Serra Retreat Center in Malibu, and there were retreat-ish aspects to it. If you needed to work … Continue reading »

New PC(USA) Site

Hey, cool. The PC(USA) has updated its website. It looks like a huge improvement over what we’ve had the last umpteen years. Congratulations to whoever put this together.

A Catholic Martyr

I was vaguely aware that Pope Benedict XVI recently visited Cyprus, but I missed this story about the martyrdom of Luigi Padovese, on June 3 of this year.

Samuel, You’re Not So Hot

Samuel wasn’t all that hot, you know? I mean, okay, he was a prophet. He has two books of the Bible named for him. He was the last judge of Israel, and God used him to commission the first two kings of Israel. But with that kind of pedigree, you just assume Samuel must be … Continue reading »

Haiti Earthquake

Horrific pictures coming out of Haiti here at the Big Picture. Please be in prayer for the people of Haiti and consider donating through the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance.

Sharing Good News (a Lesson from the Bible)

One of my favorite Bible stories is found in 2 Kings 7. A neighboring empire had attacked Israel and Jerusalem was under siege. The city was surrounded, so nothing could get in or out, and people got very, very hungry. But one night, God caused the besiegers to hear the sound of a great army. … Continue reading »

Robes

“Pastor, when are you going to start wearing your robes again?” Several of you have asked me that question. As you know, I’ve worn a minister’s robe in worship since arriving at Desert Hills. But I quit this summer. Now fall has come, and soon winter will be here, and I haven’t resumed wearing the … Continue reading »

Second-Chance God

He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. … Continue reading »

Use words if necessary…

Have you ever heard that quote by St. Francis of Assisi? I couldn’t guess how many times I’ve heard it. I’ve used it myself. It’s a great quote. Except it’s not a quote. Who knew?

Fall Season – Huddles

This post appears, in slightly-altered form, in the September Panorama: Here it is, almost fall again! Where did the summer go? A highlight of the summer for me was our brief trip to the Navajo Nation in Arizona. We were privileged to visit St. Michael’s Association for Special Education and the evangelical (Protestant) church at … Continue reading »