By Graham Glover –
It was a sight to behold – an unparalleled display of the majesty of the church and the state. From the time the hearse pulled up to steps of the National Cathedral, until it departed for Joint Base Andrews, the funeral service for George H.W. Bush was truly magnificent.
By Tim Winterstein –
A couple years ago at the Newport Beach Film Festival, when my brother said I needed to watch a film called California Typewriter, I laughed. I didn’t care about typewriters; I certainly didn’t want to watch a whole movie about them. Maybe you would share that reaction. What could possibly be so interesting about an obsolete machine that would appeal to more than a few collectors and those who feed off nostalgia for obscurities? And that nostalgia itself might be limited, since those who grew up learning to type on typewriters might have been happy to move on to word processors and computers, happy to leave behind correction fluid and replacement ink ribbons.
By Paul Koch –
“Will you instruct both young and old in the chief articles of Christian doctrine, will you forgive the sins of the those who repent, and will you promised never to divulge the sins confessed to you? Will you minister faithfully to the sick and dying, and will you demonstrate to the Church a constant and ready ministry centered in the Gospel? Will you admonish and encourage the people to a lively confidence in Christ and in holy living?”
By Cindy Koch –
If I saw you sitting in the middle of the street, playing with your toys, my heart would leap into my throat. Unaware of the danger that could overtake you from either side, you giggle contentedly without even looking up. You have your own thoughts to keep you safe, your own desires to make you happy. Focused on the little bits of entertainment that dance in front of your eyes, you don’t even know that you should be very afraid.
By Hillary Asbury –
“What is it worth?” Her eyes were big as she gestured to the piece hanging on the gallery wall. “I mean, all it is… it’s just wood and canvas and paint. So how much is it really worth? How much can I actually charge for this?” I couldn’t believe we were having this conversation. The woman standing in front of me was wildly successful. She owned her own gallery, enjoyed the business of high-profile clients, sold pieces for thousands and thousands of dollars. Yet here she was, questioning the worth of her work.
By Tim Winterstein –
Coraline (2008, streaming on Amazon Prime) might be the perfect movie for All Saints or All Souls (not that I’m praying for the dead in Purgatory, understand). What a great, semi-frightening children’s movie that gets to the heart of what matters in a family. I don’t know how closely it follows the story by Neil Gaiman, but the film is profound in ways I didn’t expect.
By Tim Winterstein –
Halloween is almost upon us, and some people like to watch scary movies. But don’t see the new Halloween or Predator or The Nun. If you want a real horror show—because it’s true—go see Gosnell: The Trial of America’s Biggest Serial Killer.
By Joel A. Hess –
Is there a difference between being a believer or a disciple? No.
Recently I have discovered numerous articles attempting to differentiate between being a believer/Christian and a disciple/follower. Go ahead google it yourself. There are many. Here’s one example.
By Paul Koch –
In 1849 Wilhelm Löhe wrote an examination of the relationship between the pastoral office as it comes to us from the pages of the New Testament and the congregations that hold firm to those very Scriptures. He made note of a trend he had observed in the church, a trend that I fear has never abated, a trend that does great damage among the people of God.
By Marc Engelhardt –
Continuing the recaps from Christ in Common (the discipleship class that focuses on Foundation, Worldview, and Practice), we get to the section that many people in the class eagerly awaited: “How far is too far?” We didn’t get into this topic much until this point because I think part of the desire to know how far is too far is to have some sort of control and to make more law. Rather, the route we took builds on itself and shows us that this is about what works out best for us and those around us because of how God created the world to work, not some sort of wrong/right, sin/sanctified, punishment/blessing scheme. So, notice that this recap should not be taken out of the context of the rest of the recaps thus far, otherwise it can easily come across as a bunch of “do this and don’t do that” law.
By Paul Koch –
I often joke around with some of my colleagues that the reason I default to the historic liturgy of the church along with an established lectionary system is that I’m lazy. I don’t want to try and figure out some sort of creative thematic series, so I just open up the book and follow the next lesson that is prescribed. I don’t have the confidence to write out my own confession or proper preface nor the time to do so, so I just use what has been used since long before I was ordained into the ministry.
By Hillary Asbury –
My family is a musical family. My grandfather played an instrument in school. My uncle was in the marching band, and so was my stepdad. My mom plays piano and was a member of the jazz band. My cousins play piano, sing, and write music. Even my best friend is an opera singer.
By Joel A. Hess –
That’s really all you want to know, right? What’s the rule, Pastor? What can I do? What can’t I do? Just tell me, and I’ll do it. Just say it. Or, is this is a good reason? What if he does this? What if she does that?
This is not an unusual conversation that confronts a pastor at least a couple times a year. How often I have had a man or woman tell me they wish their spouse either cheated on them or beat them so they would have a good reason for divorce.
By Tim Winterstein – So I watched Pale Rider for the first time. Clint Eastwood is great, as […]
By Cindy Koch –
So much of our daily lives cycle around the same old thing, day after day. Laundry, dishes, fixing the car, going to work, walking the dog, the mundane routine seems like it spins around and around, never resolved and never finished. It takes me back to a time when my babies were very little. I found myself caught in the mundane, the everyday routine. I would wake up, feed the baby, change her, do some dishes, feed the baby, change her, clean the bathroom, feed the baby, change her, and go to bed. Every single day. But nothing much changed.
By Hillary Asbury –
“A beautiful thing never gives so much pain as failing to hear and see it.”
-Michelangelo Buonarroti
As Christian viewers, we see art history differently than the rest of the world.
When we gaze upon a masterpiece of the Renaissance, we may be awed and amazed by the time, talent, and skill the artist wielded. We may be struck by the years the art has seen and survived, possibly drawn in by some mysterious link to the past. As believers, though, there is another level of context; we are viewing a visual representation of the Word of God.
By Joel A. Hess –
As I left my beautiful call in Northern Michigan to serve God’s people in Chicago, many of my brothers in Christ asked me about who their next pastor might be. I told them that the right guy won’t necessarily be just like me. Thank God! I have plenty of flaws that hopefully their new guy will improve upon. Of course, he will have his own weaknesses. Our Lord covers them all. Nevertheless, God will provide the right shepherd for their current needs.
By Hillary Asbury –
I think I may have mentioned this before, but traveling with my artwork is nerve-racking.
I’m a bit of a type “A” personality, which I’m often told is odd for an artist. I have high anxiety. I like things to be just so. I don’t want to be on time; I want to be five minutes early and perfectly presented. People sometimes comment that I am a skilled artist. I often answer that I am a perfectionist who happens to make art.
By Cindy Koch –
Its taken me some time to come back to real life. Only less than a month ago, my only concern was how much trail mix was left in my little baggie before 3pm. My husband and I were hiking back in the Sierra Nevada mountains, and there wasn’t exactly a grocery store around every corner. We carried all of our meals, tent, clothes on our back for 24 days as we hiked the John Muir Trail. About halfway through our trip, after days of 8 hour hiking sessions, food because a simple yet vital piece of our day. But at 3pm we could open up the bear canaster and find a protein bar. Just enough to get us through until dinner.
By Cindy Koch –
There are already too many holidays on our calendar that are a challenge to the Gospel and the pure Word of God. Some holidays are widely scoffed at by Christian communities, like Halloween. When I lived in the Bible Belt, trick or treating would be canceled if it ever fell on a Sunday. Some holidays are in the middle of a church and state type battle, like Christmas and Easter. Do you really celebrate the “reason for the season” and say “Merry Christmas,” or do you trade in your crosses for Easter bunnies? Then there are the holidays that surprise you, where our church and culture just might be celebrating the same thing. For example, that special Thursday in November that everyone takes a day to give thanks for every good thing they have been given. And while we all just love having a Monday off the normal routine (and any reason to barbeque and drink beer), this Labor Day should also inspire a little careful thought.
