Category Archives: Wisdom

A Rubric for Mapping Social, Cultural and Religious Group Taxonomies

Posted on December 22, 2012 by

Part of negotiating our access to diverse groups, better understanding their positions and anticipating their responses is figuring out how they work. The goal is to create a map to analyze how the group things and where the thinking takes … Continue reading →

Posted in Wisdom | 1 Comment

Of Starbucks and Calvinism, The Difference Between What I Want and What I Need

Posted on September 24, 2012 by

Got this wonderful link from my friend Eric Dirksen on The Starbucks Lifestyle. It nicely illuminated the heart of the consumer mindset. It also struck me how badly I’ve wanted my church to be as welcoming, comfortable, popular, accepting, popular, … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture commentary, Institutional Church, theological, Wisdom | Leave a comment

The Speed of the Internet vs. the Speed of Wisdom

Posted on July 27, 2012 by

Last week the blog buzz was over Jared and Doug Wilson’s statements about sex and women.  This week things are churning over Chick-fil-a. There are of course dozens of other “trending topics” on Twitter and all other media channels. The news … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture commentary, Wisdom | Leave a comment

The Banality of Ministry

Posted on June 8, 2012 by

Lottery Winners Church planters are an exciting breed of cat. They are filled with enthusiasm and drive. They overflow with visions of the church finally done right and whole cities renewed. In most cases this lasts until they actually start, … Continue reading →

Posted in Institutional Church, On the way to Sunday's sermon, Wisdom | Tagged | 2 Comments

The joy of small churches and blogs

Posted on June 2, 2012 by

I pastor a small church. I write a small blog. These are good things. I know I’m supposed to want my church to be huge, and sometimes I do, but often I don’t. Sure, I wish I didn’t have to … Continue reading →

Posted in Wisdom | 1 Comment

Of Rights and Grace

Posted on March 18, 2010 by

Again, another response to a CRC-Voices post. I suspect the word “grace” is often misapplied when we demand the benefits of it for ourselves or those we ally with. Grace can only be asked for in an request from a … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture commentary, Wisdom | Leave a comment

Church: Accessible or Counter-Cultural? Learning to love, working community

Posted on December 7, 2009 by

Scanned two disconnected articles this morning. One was a blog post retelling some of the events surrounding Jonathan Edwards getting kicked out of his church. I first pondered this episode when I was reading Marsden’s excellent biography of Edwards. It … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture commentary, Institutional Church, Wisdom

"Pastor, just tell me what to DO!"

Posted on November 12, 2009 by

Most of the time people hate being told what to do unless they want something, then they love to be told what to do in order to get it. I am an amazingly frustrating pastor to some people because they’re … Continue reading →

Posted in Understanding the Bible, Wisdom

On lying vs. being wrong

Posted on September 10, 2009 by

Words matter and the current lack of restraint (by both sides of our political binary system) of the word “lie” troubles me. To be wrong, in error, or deceived is to not speak the truth. To lie is to intentionally … Continue reading →

Posted in Wisdom | Tagged , ,

Let's not be naive about what learning from diversity requires

Posted on July 20, 2009 by

Every since Dr. King declared 11:00am as the most segregated hour in America diversity has steadily become a desired value of many congregations and denominations, including my own, the CRC. I was raised in a “racial reconciliation” church of sorts. … Continue reading →

Posted in CRC, Culture commentary, Wisdom | Tagged ,