Earlier this week, I wrote in my blog about the first time I was called in to a hospital room where the patient, an elderly gentleman, was dying and his family was, understandably, in crisis. I was doing my student chaplaincy at Unity Medical Center in Fridley, and while the man lying unconscious in the … More When the Spirit Breaks our Hearts
One of my all-time favorite movies is the 1981 blockbuster, “Raiders of The Lost Ark,” where Indiana Jones discovers the Ark of the Covenant, the 4-foot long container holding the two tablets of the 10 commandments that God gave Moses on Mt. Sinai. After a long struggle with the Nazis, Indiana Jones takes the Ark … More When God says “Go”
I’ve spent a lot of time in the last couple of weeks with my hands deep in dirt. Between weeding, tilling, weeding, planting, weeding, landscaping and weeding, a significant portion of my wife’s and my time has been spent outdoors trying to make green things greener. While spending time in the yard and the garden … More A Dynamic Faith
Of the three aspects of the Trinity; Father, Son and Holy Spirit, it is the Spirit that has always been the most confusing and mysterious. Just out of curiosity, I googled the phrase “Holy Spirit” and came up with 12,300,000 different web pages about the Holy Spirit. I gave a read through the first 2-3 … More Take A Breath
Last year, I asked the congregation in a sermon to give me their “faith questions.” I’m trying to occasionally respond to these questions. (It’s been awhile since I’ve done one!) This question came out of that sermon: “How do we tackle the idea that we believe God is the only way to salvation, but there … More The Way to Salvation
In something like 36 hours, we got 4 inches of rain. And it’s like I could almost hear my lawn giving a long, low groan of relief. it had been so dry for the last few weeks that my lawn kind of “crackled” as I walked over it. In bare patches, I could see little … More Like Rain
When I was in the midst of the call process to come to Trinity, I remember talking to Lori as I was on my way home from one of my meetings with the Call Committee, and I said “they laugh together…a lot.” I don’t want to imply that the Call Committee didn’t take their responsibility … More Healthy Laughter
Test Driving Theology 