As expressed by responses to our last post, a danger of 12 Step Recovery is that those who work the program can fail to see where the insights of its “cycle of steps” come from. A similar danger is found in Bible study or church attendance that focuses on moral answers that don’t lead to […]
As we move into the second full week of 2011 we may or may not be having second thoughts about resolutions made, or not made, a week ago. Change isn’t easy. Could it even be possible for us to follow through on our commitments? If so, what it is going to take? Am thinking this […]
One of the reasons I have been so intrigued with Murrow’s book, “Why Men Hate Going to Church” is that his work explores the interrelationship between spiritual character and the real and perceived nature of masculinity and femininity. In the middle of such a discussion I find myself in wonder of both the self-evident nature […]
“Why Men Hate Going to Church” by author David Murrow stayed on my desk, unread for a long time, because it looked like an overstatement. But then I started reading and was intrigued by his suggestion that, of the world’s major religions, only Christianity seems to have a problem getting men. His assessment is that […]
When this Northern Goshawk showed up in a Hawthorn Tree, something predictable happened. Suddenly there wasn’t another bird in sight. The Cardinals, Blue Jays, House Finches, and Downy Woodpeckers, that had been hanging around our bird feeders were suddenly nowhere to be seen. Only when the big boy left did they slowly return. Interesting isn’t […]
We’ve been thinking together about how Jesus is not only wisdom personified (1Cor 1:30), but also our best reason to pursue more of what it means to live wisely in him rather than less (James 3:13-17). While trying to flesh out the thought that James is actually telling us how to find and recognize the […]
Solomon put a high value on wisdom. According to him nothing that we desire can compare with it (Prov 3:13-15). But then came Paul. He wrote that God made Christ to be wisdom for us (1Cor 1:30). Since wisdom is the ability to use knowledge to reach a desired goal, Paul seems to be saying […]
While working through the jetlag of our return from an Israel production trip, I’ve had a chance to visit some of the 1700 artist exhibits that are being shown at over 190 different sites in the second annual Grand Rapids, ArtPrize event. It’s turning out be a gathering place for our community and a way […]
We live in a world of time and space. Space, I suppose makes sense to us. To be anything at all, everyone and everything needs to be somewhere. But why time? With its cycles, seasons, and holidays, could time be reminding us that, even when we are sitting, we are actually in motion, as if […]
Everyone has faith in something. No one can live very long without hope. And those who don’t believe in God often make a strong case for loving one another. So is it any wonder that those who do not think Christ is the only way to God are not impressed when they hear his followers […]
