When things don’t work

In an earlier era, my friends and I drove high-mileage, less-reliable cars that bounced along on “May-Pop” tires. We didn’t take for granted that our cars would start or get us to every intended destination. We just hoped and prayed and checked the air...

From the outside looking in

My only view of congregational life has been from the inside. Having never lived apart from a “church family,” my unvarnished perspective is vastly different from those who view the church from the outside. Like many, I’ve seen the church up close —...

After midnight

Aging is a dirty trick in that behavioral changes occur without one’s intent or permission. For example, “sleeping in” now means I’m not at the coffee shop when the doors swing open at 6:30 AM.Staying up late means I catch the last inning of...

Translating the faith to our time

Rarely do we find honest public confessions from U.S. Christian leaders about the state of our faith practice. That’s why a line from Gary Gunderson’s 2004 book, Boundary Leaders, has stuck with me.Gary is a Baptist minister who has worked for many years...