God is not fair. He gleefully flaunts it too. He shoves it in our faces. Jesus’ version of reality is devoid of common sense. The Kingdom of God might as well be called, “Crazy Upside-down Jesus World.” Here’s an example: Say I need some landscaping done at my house. So I go to the...

Several years ago a pastor asked me to coach him on some leadership issues. He was a brand new pastor and was having a hard time acclimating to the demands of the job. I remembered what a mess of a leader I was my rookie year, so I agreed to meet with him regularly. The meetings went okay for a while,...

If you’re climbing a rock face, the thing that spares you from death in the event of a fall is your protection (which is some sort of anchor you put in the rock that will put an end to your fall).  Of course, the higher you climb beyond your last piece of protection, the farther you’ll fall...

Happy Mothers Day Mom… I know you won’t read this, because I tried to teach you how to use a computer about five years ago, and it was simply too much for you.  You’re still amazed at the digital picture frame I gave you when you moved into your new room at the retirement center. Maybe...

“But many of the priests and Levites and heads of the Father’s houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept when they saw the foundation of this house being laid, though many shouted for joy, so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of...

You’ve no doubt heard about the parable of the seed and the sower?  It’s one of those stories I’ve seen illustrated with little shreds of flannel when I was in 2nd grade, heard it taught at camp by a guy who illustrated it in what was called a “chalk talk” and studied it...

There are times that I read to engage. I will read a theology or praxis book to keep me sharp as a pastor. But there are also times that I read to escape. I’ll grab a novel, a memoir or history book so I can get my imagination as far away from the office as I can. This week I needed to disengage,...

Survey the landscape of American Christianity on any given Sunday and you’ll find plenty of evidence that God is on the throne, we’re walking in victory, and Satan’s utterly crushed.  There are lots of praise choruses about our victory and God’s goodness, along with clapping...

You sit across the coffee shop with a white turban, each crease folded with care, undulating like lines in the Mombasa sand at low tide. I watch you sipping espresso and fiddling with your phone, and I realize there are no enemies. Only others who are really us, but for the gap of knowing. If only we...

My church is offering what might be an unusual parenting class. There is a psychology professor in town who goes to our church, and we’ve got her presenting a Sunday School class that emphasizes adolescent brain development. I suspect that this class is unusual for two reasons. First, most parents...