Presence: Christianity arrives in community

If you had the hubris to write a book filled with everything people need to know about God, how might you organize it?   Would you open such a Bible with a chapter of definitions and terms? Would you organize your chapters with titles like “how worship feeds our souls” or “dealing with oppression, evil […]

Baptism as a way of living

In 1997, on a clear cloudless night not long after Lewis was born, I felt a pull to carry Lewis outside. Maybe I felt a bond so rich that being surrounded by walls and held in by a ceiling seemed wrong. I looked up at the starry sky. That same sky called out to Abraham […]

Chattanooga- our baptismal vows offer a response

Chattanooga stung and stings. We grieve for the lost Marines. We grieve for our lost sense community and safety. We grieve for the hate unleashed. We grieve with what we hope is a godly grief. We lament.   With the Psalmist we lift heavy eyes to God. At times I want to lash out. Yet, I […]

I RESOLVE: remembering my baptism

I resolve to live into my baptism. I resolve to remember my profession of faith.   I renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness. I reject the evil powers of this world. I repent of my sin!   I accept the freedom and power God gives to me. I resolve to resist evil, injustice, and oppression. […]