Nathanael
January 18, 2026
When the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday rolls around each year, I make it a point either to re-read or listen to his stirring “I Have a Dream Speech,” delivered during the March on Washington on August 28, 1963. That day more than a quarter of a million Americans gathered to voice their grievance before […]
Read More“Remember Your Baptism”
January 11, 2026
Everybody loves a baptism. It’s always a thrill for pastors, parents, and congregations to be a part of what Saint Augustine calls, “an outward sign of an inward grace,” a moment filled with blessing, publicly affirming that this person–whether an infant or adult– is a child of God, claimed by God, loved by God. As […]
Read MorePay Attention! And Say “Yes!”
January 4, 2026
Several months ago, as I first sat down with Anthony Weisman to talk about his planned parental leave and later as I visited with Caroline Burke, I quickly learned that this is a happy, enthusiastic, energetic, and joy-filled family of faith, and that was long before I viewed the recording of the Christmas pageant live-stream […]
Read MoreFall On Your Knees
December 25, 2025
If you read the Christmas story, what you will read is a story with far less of Christ in it than you might expect. There is one line in it about the birth of Christ, really. The rest of the Christmas story is a story about other people – about other people, who, while doing […]
Read MoreTo Be One of the Hidden Righteous Ones
December 14, 2025
He’s there, bowing over the manger in every nativity set on every mantel, marveling at the sleeping baby alongside Mary and the shepherds. But, unless his head happens to be crowned with a halo, you’ll actually probably not be able to tell him apart from the shepherds. He’s a bearded man among bearded men, any […]
Read MoreRepentance is not Cheap Grace
December 7, 2025
Every year, in church, just as the Christmas tree goes up and the garland is hung, as children begin bribing Amber for one of the better parts in the pageant, as candles are lit and carols are sung, with a spirit of warmth and joy in the air – we get a series of scripture […]
Read MoreGod is an Imperfect Verb
November 30, 2025
God’s name isn’t God. In the bible, in the Book of Exodus, God introduces himself to Moses as I AM WHO I AM. You have to wonder what God’s parents were thinking giving him a name like that. He’d never be able to get his dress shirts or his luggage monogrammed. And who knows what […]
Read MoreCelebrating Small Gifts and Great Gifts
November 23, 2025
You may have seen the story in the news a few weeks ago: The US Treasury Department will no longer be minting pennies. Over the past decade, it had come to cost almost four cents to produce a single one-cent coin – which is obviously a ridiculous expense given that pennies are all but worthless […]
Read More