For a few years, I ran a small dog sled team. I had four female dogs on my team, Kai (the lead dog), as well as Suka, Kina, and Pika. Each dog had their own unique, and at times annoying, personality. Each dog had a job on the team, and while some shared jobs, they each employed a different emphasis to the way they executed this job. Three to four times per week, I would load all the dogs in the van along with the sled and all the gear and then we would drive the forty miles or so to our sledding zone; Hope Valley.
friendship
So, in my last blog I introduced you to my newest obsession, my 1968 VW Type II Double […]
John Calvin (the least entertaining of the Reformers) famously said, “From this we may gather that man’s nature, […]
By Paul Koch – John Calvin, the least entertaining of the Reformers, famously said, “From this we may […]
By Paul Koch – When you hear a man refer to a group of friends as his “church […]
By Cindy Koch – Each teenager told their own story by their posture in the little church library […]
By Paul Koch –
My good friend and I had just finished our weekly taco Tuesday ritual. We were chatting in the parking lot when I asked him what was up. Clearly something had been bothering him. It wasn’t that he was some emotional wreck or anything, just that he seemed a bit unsettled, which is not like him. He spoke some about being unsure of what was wrong. He wasn’t thrilled about things in life and the routines that he had fallen into. Perhaps it was work, needing a vacation, or maybe a chance to reexamine career goals.
By Paul Koch –
Last week, I left the temperate environs of my home and headed out to the frozen land of Fort Wayne, Indiana to attend the annual symposia held at the seminary. We gather there in the middle of January to hear theological papers on given topics by some of the leading experts in the field. It is always academically challenging and insightful. Professionally, it allows me to examine my preconceived notions. It gives me the opportunity to reflect on my understanding of the ministry and how I might better practice my vocation.
By Paul Koch –
I have written a lot on the topic of friendship over the years. It is a subject that I find fascinating and a universal component of the human experience, and deep down I know that it is personally crucial for my life. Friendship is not just a theoretical discussion or a curious observation of social constructs. No, it is something that I need in my life. I am the furthest thing from the “lone wolf” ideal of the American frontier; I need friends in my life. I don’t need a lot of them, but I need them. I need men amongst whom I know who I am; my worth, my strengths and weaknesses, my values and goals are best sorted out in the company of a friend.
“Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.” (1 Corinthians 16:13-14)
The Jagged Word has always been a place that encourages meaningful conversation about what is happening in the Church as it intersects with, reacts to, and challenges current cultural trends. The friends that make up The Jagged Word and have written every week for the last few years have found that there are some common topics that tend to come up over and over again. While we certainly see topics of all things church reoccur, such as worship or preaching, we have also noticed that there has been an ongoing discussion about what it means to be a man.