Learning From Rivers, Wadis, Swamps and Rain
Several months ago I was reading Teresa of Avila, Her thoughts on prayer also apply to philanthropy. She likened prayer to watering a garden, and with every subsequent activity our…
Letting Go Of What Was Never Ours
To model generosity, one Sunday our staff placed $50 bills under three seats in our auditorium. Not even our elders knew the money was there, taped to the bottom of…
House Sitters Over Creation
If I went out of town and asked you to house sit, would you neglect to feed my pets? Water my lawn? Vacuum my living room after you hosted a…
Re-creation Now
In Revelation 22, John describes the City of God overflowing with justice, beauty, and goodness. The Genesis 3 curse of toil, pain, sweat, sin and death is lifted. It will…
Prayer // this is all I’ve got, unless God makes it better
In prayer, we come to our Father saying, “This is all I’ve got, unless you make it better.” Prayer is the inoculation against spiritual disease. When we pray, our souls…
Ministry Resentment
Ministry can make you very angry. Perhaps more angry than any other profession. Maybe this is because of the strange and complex tangle of relationships associated with working at a…
Why Are We Here?
For the last few months, some friends have been meeting in my office on Monday nights for a Bible study. We were tracing one particular idea through the scriptures (“why are we…
How to Pray Through Your Horror
Julian of Norwich was brilliant. She positively impacted millions by her reflections on prayer. But she was crazy. Julian’s experience of God resulted in such ecstasy she spoke of it…
Science Fiction in Christian Tradition
When I was writing and researching Nativity and Kingdom, I learned there is a surprising amount of science fiction nestled within Christian tradition—a tradition that, historically, predates science and vilifies…
Why Does Prayer Feel Like Golf?
I’ve invested so much time, so much devotion, and developed so little competence in return. I’ve been praying daily for forty years and often wonder why I’m still so bad…
Visions of Heaven
John’s vision of the heavenly reality was first presented to Christians suffering persecution. In this vision, John sees victims as victors waving palm branches and worshiping their rescuer. God will…