By Graham Glover –
It’s time to take a deep breath dear Christian friends. Breathe in. Breathe out.
Seriously, everything is going to be ok. And if it’s not, if the world in which we live is hell bent on moral destruction, oh well, it doesn’t really matter, because in the grand scheme of things, the Church’s purpose has never been primarily about changing behavior.
By Graham Glover –
Like many others, I am at a loss in trying to figure out Pope Francis. (For those of you Lutherans reading this that loathe the papacy, move along, there’s nothing to see here…)
Honestly, I can’t figure out if Francis is a theological genius or someone who just might turn the Vatican and its curia upside down – or perhaps even sow the seeds that will ultimately destroy it.
By Graham Glover –
As much as I wish it would happen, I doubt it ever will – the Democratic Party supporting the Pro-Life Movement. It boggles my mind why the party that so passionately advocates on behalf of the less fortunate, the outcast, and the voiceless, is eerily silent when it comes to the unborn child. But I’m not politically naïve, I get the underlying narrative that prevents this from happening, which is why I have no expectation that those who do not support abortion on demand will ever be given a role, much less a platform, in Democratic politics.
By Graham Glover –
It’s been 10 years since the nationally syndicated columnist Rod Dreher penned, ‘Crunchy Cons: How Birkenstocked Burkeans, gun-loving organic gardeners, evangelical free-range farmers, hip homeschooling mamas, right-wing nature lovers, and their diverse tribe of countercultural conservatives plan to save America (or at least the Republican Party)”. I was a fan of the book when it was published and am an even bigger proponent of the ideas Dreher is advocating today.
Yes, I am a Crunchy Con. And you, the readers of The Jagged Word, should be as well.
By Graham Glover –
Seriously, what’s so important about the membership one holds in a particular church body these days?
Does one’s denominational affiliation really mean what so many of us theologians wish it did?
Don’t misinterpret what I’m asking. The theological differences between church bodies are immensely important. I’m a lifelong member of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod for a reason. As one who daily works alongside clergy from other denominations, I fully appreciate why Christendom is not united.
By Graham Glover –
Sometimes I wonder if being a Christian is only and exclusively about how one acts. It’s not that the Scriptures testify to this. The Church does not properly teach it. But every time I turn around these days, I find fellow believers telling me or suggesting to me that one’s Christian faith is a measurable thing – specifically, that our behavior is the clearest mark of what we believe, and the truest test as to whether one actually is a believer at all.
This asinine idea that our behavior is the means by which we measure our Christian faith is not only an unhealthy obsession, it is a lie.
By Graham Glover –
Last Sunday, I had the privilege to serve as the celebrant during the Divine Service at our parish in Hawaii. I am always grateful to my civilian peers when they afford me the opportunity to assist them during worship. Words cannot express how efficacious their gesture is for my faith and affirming it is for my vocation. One day I will shed the Army uniform, but Lord willing, I will always wear the collar.
By Graham Glover –
We still have a long way to go in the 2016 election cycle. We may think we know who the party’s nominees are, but if there is anything this election has proven, it is that this year is entirely unpredictable. I suggest you get comfortable and fasten your seatbelt, because there are a lot of twists and turns yet to come this election year. Nobody knows what America will wake up to on November 9th. Nobody. All we know is that anything and everything is within the realm of possibility.
By Graham Glover –
We are less than 9 months away from electing the next President of the United States. After months of talk and preparation, the electorate and pundits are knee deep in the primaries. There are still a lot of votes to be cast, but I suspect that after the 15th of March we will have a pretty good idea of who the nominees are going to be for each party.
Like almost every other political prognosticator, I am at a loss for how the 2016 election is unfolding.
By Graham Glover –
I recently returned from a 2-week field exercise with my Soldiers. Apart from being away from my family, sleeping in a 1-man pup tent, not showering, and eating more MREs than my digestive tract prefers – it was a phenomenal time of training with my new Battalion.
There are many things an Army chaplain can do to earn the trust and respect of his Soldiers, to include, above all, being a faithful man of God. But living with them in their training environment – enduring the “suck” that everyone experiences while in the field, is one of the best ways for a Soldier to realize that where they go, their chaplain goes – when they suffer, their chaplain does so as well.
By Graham Glover –
It’s been just over three weeks since my family and I arrived to our new duty station in Hawaii. We’re settling in nicely to our new house and are thrilled with our children’s new school. I’m getting to know the Soldiers of my new Unit and look forward to heading to the field with them in the very near future. Although we’re far from home, life in Hawaii is great. (No matter how tough your day might be, it’s hard to complain when you live on an island!)
By Graham Glover –
I am generally immune to the antics of Christian pietists. Their self-righteousness is more silly than offensive and their claim to represent some kind of authentic Christianity is as ridiculous as the theology the espouse. They are found throughout Christendom, from Roman Catholicism to your garden variety non-denominational community church, and yes, they even make their presence known in my own Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.
By Graham Glover –
I’m a stubborn person. According to my wife, I have a tendency to be too stubborn. “You need to lighten up” she says from time to time.
I admit that I could “chill out” of some things. I’m no care-free, fly by the seat of my pants type guy, but I know that life doesn’t always need to be so serious and intense.
However, on one issue I will not budge
By Graham Glover –
What would you do? If you were “Emperor for the Day” – completely in charge of all things for 24 hours, how would you change the United States? (Or would you do nothing at all?!)
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