-
Thoughts on Ministering during Strange Times
Do you feel helpless to…well…help? Especially after something like that dreadful winter storm that ravaged the state of Texas. Or as people continue in the psycho-emotional quarantine of Covid-19. Or with the global economy still reeling. I thought now might be a good time to chat about this with one of my spiritual Godfathers, Dwayne, who has been serving underserved communities for over 25 years. His insights are invaluable. *** Why did you start serving the homeless and impoverished? I guess I couldn’t silence the words of Jesus in Matthew 25: that he was hungry, thirsty, estranged, naked, sick, imprisoned. And, I couldn’t get over how gracious God was in…
-
Let’s chat about the price of following Christ…
Maybe I was sick the day we counted in Sunday School. Yeah, that’s it. Maybe I inadvertently skipped Small Group the night we talked about tallying. Humph. Truth is, when 8-year-old-me professed faith, and even when adult me more decisively “rededicated my life to Christ,” no one said, “For real. Count the costs.” A heads-up would’ve been nice. Something like… “Hey, splashing around in the shallows will end; it has to. At some point, you’ll get plunged deeper…beyond places your toes can touch…and you’ll spend the rest of life there as both God and the Adversary try to drown you—in very different ways and for very different reasons. So, consider…
-
Psalm 56
A Miktam of David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath:1 Be gracious to me, God, for a man is trampling me;he fights and oppresses me all day long.2 My adversaries trample me all day,for many arrogantly fight against me. 3 When I am afraid,I will trust in you.4 In God, whose word I praise,in God I trust; I will not be afraid.What can mere mortals do to me? 5 They twist my words all day long;all their thoughts against me are evil.6 They stir up strife, they lurk,they watch my stepswhile they wait to take my life.7 Will they escape in spite of such sin?God, bring down the nations in wrath. 8 You yourself have recorded my wanderings.Put my tears…
-
To anyone struggling with trust…
Join me for an insightful conversation with Eric Willis and Amy Cedrone. 0
-
A Pattern of Prophecy
Clarification: they’re not the folks on TV spouting name-it-and-claim-it mumbo jumbo. Or Christian celebrities on conference circuits. Or those huddled in dimly-lit rooms whispering, “I just see x for you,” with x being anything from a new job to a medical diagnosis. They’re the school teachers and concert pianists and teenagers–everyday folks who have high views of Scripture and altruistic desires for widespread transformation. Their pursuit of purity, beauty, and unity keeps them listless…anxious…even depressed. They’re true prophets, and their lives often follow a rough-but-predictable pattern: see, speak, wait.[1] See. True prophets perceive what’s going on beneath the surface. Consider Elijah in 1 Kings 17-19, a man who peeled up…
-
Disarm
0
-
The Language of the Unheard
In 1965 over half the population of Dallas County, Alabama, was African American, yet accounted for a meager 2% of registered voters. After attempts to register these residents failed, Martin Luther King, Jr. came. Peaceful protests formed. Bloody Sunday ensued. King was shot. And violence erupted across the nation. “A riot is the language of the unheard.” Fifty years of peaceful attempts to procure the right for women to vote made little impact. By 1912 a new wave of suffragettes had flooded Britain’s shores, attacking clergy, bombing buildings, and terrorizing society. “A riot is the language of the unheard.” In the 1400’s Jan Hus confronted corruption in the church, specifically…
-
Listening to My Black Brother: an interview
Ecclesiastes says there’s a time to speak and a time to be silent. Today I’m going to be silent, but I invite you to listen to one of my spiritual godfathers, a Black man living in north Dallas. His name is Dwayne. What happens within you when you see this ongoing brutality against people of color? There’s a flood of emotions: anger, terror, sadness. I wonder how this could happen. Why is there so much hate and disrespect for Black people and people of color? I wonder why and how long my people have to suffer. It’s like all the history triggers me. This has been going on for so…
-
An Invitation to Lament
Everyone is grieving. Students mourn the ball games and proms they didn’t have. Folks agonize over the jobs and insurance they’ve lost. People ache after their loved one joined nearly a quarter of a million others killed by this “novel” virus. We’re all grieving . We need to. We need to wrestle and scream and plead with God to do something about the whole dadgum thing. Actually, we need to lament. Today I invite you to lament with me. We’ll journey together, interactively, so grab something to write with and get into a comfy chair. Begin by jotting down the first thoughts that come to mind when you hear the…
-
Longing for Life After Corona
Last weekend I took to the streets, maintaining social distance, of course, to chat with perfect strangers about the corona situation. The responses were fascinating… 0
