Across Church Street
All of a Piece
A Church that works for integrity under God and with him.
Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. — Matthew 12:30
Sanctification. Restoration. Forgiveness. Reconciliation. Invitation. Welcome. Redemption. Jubilee. Repentance. Evangelism. Rectification. Healing. Repair. Defragmentation. Reconstruction. Exorcism. Communion.
These are wholeness words that, themselves, are squares in a ministry quilt.
Upside Down Kingdom
The grittiness of a 'Jesus is Lord' gospel.
Better said, God's kingdom is the right-side-up one. In the Beatitudes (Matt. 5), Jesus says God's favor is on the humble, the mourning, the gentle and kind, those who seek the repair of unjust systems, the merciful, the innocent, the peacemakers, and the oppressed. His kingdom consists of self-giving to God and neighbor. It's something Paul echoes in 1 Cor. 13, and details in Gal. 5. The challenge is to turn this from a religious abstraction to daily discipleship, to deny myself, take up my cross every day, and follow Jesus' lead, along with others in my church family.
Not Making Pretzels
I was trained as a chemical engineer. I learned how to take consistent raw materials and run them through a consistent process under consistent conditions to make a consistent product. This is how pretzels are formed from flour, salt, leaven, and water. But it's not how people and churches are formed. Instead, watch how leaders lead when conditions are wildly variable and people are so diverse. Look for signs of trust, affiliation, curiosity, and attention. Listen to the stories.
- love
- Holy Spirit
- humility
- church
- poverty & mercy
- politics & society
- mission & witness
- holiness
- parable & metaphor
- identity
- eternal life
- doubt & deconstruction
- leadership
- grace
- justice
- scripture
- spiritual life
- advent & christmas
- imagination & creativity
- technology & AI
- knowing God
- human dignity
- faith & trust
- incarnation & cross
- kingdom of God
- community
- reconciliation
- spiritual formation
- epistemology
- prayer
- gratitude
- culture
- creation & nature
- discipleship
I practice the spiritual discipline of rescuing earthworms on paved surfaces. It's a reminder to me that I can pause what I'm doing, get a little dirty, and help. Also, that I've been given the responsibility to care.