Happy Monday! I’m beginning today with a perplexing word-of-the-week… Sacrifice I’ve never really understood Lent. It’s that 40-day preparation for Easter that begins this week on Ash Wednesday. My particular church community doesn’t emphasize Lent, so my impressions of it come from folks who seem intent on letting everyone know what they “gave up for Lent.” […]
Continue readingMore TagGod’s Fingerprint
Happy Saturday! Mathematics reveals the fingerprints of God. I hope you enjoy the beauty and mystery. (If you can’t see the video, click here.) Have a great weekend.
Continue readingMore TagA Question About Service
Has a question ever told you something important about yourself? Last time I said I love questions (God And Tough Questions). That doesn’t mean the questions are always comfortable or that I’m happy with my responses. Encouraging real questions means embracing uncertainty and imperfection. When you work with adolescents you learn that you often have […]
Continue readingMore TagGod And Tough Questions
What do you do with an uncomfortable question? I love questions. It wasn’t always so. As a newbie teacher, questions terrified me. I believed I should know every answer, that “I’m not sure” was a sign of weakness. I needed to be the expert, and experts know everything, right? I’m not thinking of the sort […]
Continue readingMore TagThe Bible: Chapter And Verse?
Note: This article continues our Wednesday series about the Bible. You can check out previous entries here. Do you ever think about the chapter and verse divisions of the Bible? It’s pretty obvious that the Bible’s chapters and verses weren’t part of the original manuscripts. We’re so accustomed to them that we take them for […]
Continue readingMore TagGod Is Not A Story Problem
This is a follow-up to Friday’s article (Crushing Creativity And Curiosity At Church). How do you “learn” about God? Remember “story problems” in math class? Story problems were supposed to show that you could “apply” what you “learned.” You had to determine the key words and produce the right answer to an inane question. Story […]
Continue readingMore TagLearn
Happy Monday! I’m curious about your thoughts on this edition of word-of-the-week… Learn It’s a simple word, especially for a guy who spent thirty-five years as a teacher. Everybody learns, right? What’s the big deal? It’s sad to admit that for about half of my teaching career, I didn’t have a working definition of what […]
Continue readingMore TagPieces And Parts
Happy Saturday! I think I saw something profound in this silly two-minute video. If reminded me of 1 Corinthians 13:12. Check it out and see what you think. My observation is below–no fair peeking! (If you can’t see the video, click here.) My observation: The parts can be re-purposed to create all sorts of silly, fun […]
Continue readingMore TagCrushing Creativity And Curiosity At Church
Is your faith creative and curious? In my first year of teaching I encountered a high school freshman named Jerry. Jerry sat in the back. He slept if possible; otherwise he worked hard at being disinterested. When forced to actually participate he’d offer wrong answers to even the simplest question. Jerry’s young teacher sadly wrote […]
Continue readingMore TagThe Danger Of Hope
Have you ever thought about “hope” as a dangerous thing? If you’re a regular reader you know I’m working on this crazy big project (Journey 4 Hope) as one of my 2011 goals. As the project begins to take shape, I’ve started telling more people about it. Last week I talked to a couple of […]
Continue readingMore TagWho Chooses The Actual Words In The Bible?
Note: This article continues our Wednesday series about the Bible. You can check out previous entries here. Have you ever thought about the individuals who actually translate Scripture? One thing’s for sure: they’re a lot smarter than I am. Scholars dedicate large chunks of their lives to studying ancient languages. They dissect and fuss over […]
Continue readingMore TagWhat Is The Point?
Can you imagine a worse fate than struggle with no purpose? Last week I spoke to a group of seniors. One question I always ask myself before a talk is, “What can I tell these folks that will be useful?” My first answer is usually Not Much, but I try to move on anyway. I […]
Continue readingMore Tag