By Paul Koch – Over the years I have read quite a bit about the influence of Scientific Management in our schools, corporations and military but I had never really thought much about its influence in the church. Scientific Management views efficiency as the highest good. So if you want a good and well-oiled society … Continue reading In Praise of the Inefficient Church
By Cindy Koch- For some of us, the day came and went. Flowers, family, breakfast, phone calls, homemade cards, maybe even a glass of champagne if you were lucky. Mothers all over the country were honored in some little way due to a brilliant campaign on behalf of Hallmark. It was a lovely little day … Continue reading Not A Mom
By Paul Koch – Once a month, all my colleagues get together for a regular meeting of all the pastors in our circuit. We sit around and talk shop over coffee and breakfast type foods. We undertake some sort of theological study and catch up on any important news from our district (though it’s never … Continue reading Triple Filtered Sermon
By Joel A. Hess - This past Sunday, our church celebrated the confirmation of a bunch of our kids, my son included. Poor kids. What are we doing? Thirteen and fourteen year olds promising to be upstanding members, givers, and receivers in the Church, to hold to the teachings of the Church according to the Small Catechism, even … Continue reading A Better Confirmation Vow
By Bob Hiller - My good buddy, Rev. Eric Eichinger, has written a wonderful book on Olympic runner and missionary Eric Liddell. I’m honored to have him contribute this piece on the Jagged Word. Check out his book here!~Bob By Eric Eichinger — Truth be told, occasionally I find myself not wanting to walk through … Continue reading We Could Use A Liddell Perseverance
By Paul Koch – Sometimes it seems as if I’m living in some sort bizarre parallel universe, where the things I learned from my childhood, the things that have helped defined me up to this point no longer seem to matter. Or perhaps a better image would be that of a modern-day Rip Van Winkle. … Continue reading Disney and the Death of the Difficult
By Hillary Asbury - Every month I will be featuring an “Illustration of the Month,” a digital image that can be downloaded at http://www.hillaryasbury.com, for free, for use in church or home. My hope is that this simple offering will aid in the edification of our families and communities. This month’s image (available for the … Continue reading Illustration of the Month: Valley of Dry Bones
