“We sang “God Bless America” and believed that God wanted us to have life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We saw no conflict between capitalism and Christianity, the American dream and the cost of discipleship. Faith was a correct system of beliefs, and religion was defined by where you spent Sunday morning and whether you avoided…
She grabbed the communion goblet with both hands, wrestling it awkwardly out of the officiant’s hands, and took a big gulp. Her teenage daughter followed suit. This happened recently as some friends and I had gathered for a church service before a preaching conference. After we had lots of laughs over their “mistake” of not…
I love to cook. I haven’t always loved cleaning the kitchen. Dave and I have an agreement regarding post-dinner time: he takes the kids upstairs for baths and showers, I clean up the kitchen. For the first few years, this was an efficient and logical arrangement, but not a particularly happy one for me –…
“That kid is bad. And it’s your fault. You’re bad too.” That’s what she said to me, wagging her finger at me and my child. It was a dreary day here in Portland, so after some indoor gym time, the kids and I ran to the store for a few things. It was nearing the…
“…if the church is Jesus’s beloved bride, his partner and mate in this journey, I have to wonder … who are the people we should be eating with, talking with, and showing kindness to? What is God up to in our neighborhoods, schools, cities, states, countries, and world? To what or whom is God nudging…
