Have you ever noticed that there are rules in life that seem like they were designed just to drive you crazy? Maybe it’s a traffic law…maybe some policy at your work…or perhaps it’s a social expectation. There are rules and laws that don’t make a lot of sense to us. For instance: Rules and laws. Some of … More Free to Love
Here at church, almost every afternoon, we see student drivers practicing their driving skills under the watchful eye of their instructors in the church parking lot. They will practice winding through the rows, parallel parking and angle parking. It makes sense to me; It’s a big lot with plenty of room. I did the same thing when we … More The Middle Place
So, what did you expect when you woke up this morning? What were your expectations for the day? Because we all have expectations, right? So you woke up on this Easter morning…what did you expect to see today? Maybe you expect to see family or friends who have traveled to be here…to celebrate together. Maybe you expected to step outside this … More Resurrection Moments
My first car was a 1978 AMC Concord DL (DL for DeeLuxe!) For those unfamiliar with the AMC Concord, it was a small car, a compact, but it was a bit of a beast. I think the bodies were made out of cast iron. But the thing that my particular AMC Concord DL was known for, besides … More The Moment That Changed Everything
Words have power. They just do. Our words have the power to shape our world…to shape how we feel about someone…to shape a relationship. We have seen this in our lives. We have seen this in the world around us. We have seen this in our famly…and our friends. A compliment can lift my spirits. … More With Just A Word
I have been looking forward to this week’s reading from the Gospel of Matthew for weeks. Really, I have. For at least a month, we’ve been plowing away through these set of instructions that Jesus was giving to the disciples on what to do and how to act once He was gone. And truth be … More Patina
When the decade of the 1960s came to an end, many of the hippies who had lived in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district were forced by rising real estate costs to moved down the coast to the town of Santa Cruz. There, they married and had children, they bought cars and homes and they enrolled their … More Truth has a Name
He is risen! He is risen indeed! On a normal Easter Sunday, before the worship begins, the pastors and the choir would be gathered at the back doors, the lights would be darkened. There would be a brass fanfare in the balcony and then I would shout out the words that Christians have been saying … More Not Your Average Easter
Sometimes good stories trigger memories: When I think of “The Wizard of Oz,” I think of getting to eat dinner in front of the TV…something that otherwise never happened in our house when I was growing up. When I think of the Harry Potter books, I think of sitting on our couch with each of … More To See or Not To See
Grace and peace to you from God our creator, and from Jesus, who heals. Amen. In 2008 a young Australian woman, Hailey Bartholomew, found that she just wasn’t enjoying life. She described herself as feeling lost and stuck on a treadmill. She couldn’t really explain why. She was married to a man she loved and … More How Are You?
Test Driving Theology 