By Graham Glover –
I met my wife 16 years ago this October. A couple of months later we were in love. A year and a half after that we were married, and for the past 14+ years our love for one another has sustained our marriage and our family.
Vocation
By Hillary Asbury –
I love libraries and bookstores.
I love the smell of books, the texture of their paper, and the elegance with which each book stands in its place. I love the organized chaos of full bookshelves. There is something humbling, and yet exhilarating, about being surrounded by so many books, so much knowledge and art. I step into a library and immediately think about how many words are housed under that one roof. I walk into a bookstore and am struck by the millions of stories just waiting to be discovered. There is so much out there, so much information that even if I were to dedicate the rest of my life to reading, I would never be able to read it all, not even a fraction.
By Marc Engelhardt –
Allow me to introduce myself since I am new to the blog and I am going to write like I know what I’m talking about. My name is Marc. I am a pastor, and I have been in the field for 9 years (10 if you count the deferred vicarage). I have served both a very large church community and an itsy-bitsy church community (like 7 millennials in worship small). I currently serve a wonderful church community in SoCal. Those palarmes only take into account my post-masters work and not the 10 years I was doing a lot of the same things before I hit the seminary. Put it all together and I have a little bit of experience in a lot of different situations. In those situations, I have been reading and trying out ways to do the very best I can in the discipline of discipleship. I’m a bit of a discipleship nut.
By Graham Glover –
There are millions of Americans who hate abortion. I’m one of them.
There are millions of Americans who wish most abortions were illegal. I too am one of them.
By Cindy Koch –
I must be really tired right now. We are hiking the John Muir trail, and when you read this, we will be on day 14. I planned to leave you with some thoughts on marriage as Paul and I are taking our grand adventure away from kids, phones, and everyday life. But two weeks now, without my favorite pillow… I hope I’m doing ok out there.
By Bob Hiller –
She is very attractive for you, isn’t she? And you can’t seem to leave her alone. You love being the center of her attention. When she compliments you, you feel like you can conquer the world. You’ve even become an expert on wooing those compliments out of her. You know what she likes to hear. Sure, there are times when she’s not happy with you, and it drives you crazy. You grow self-defensive, yet you obsess over winning back her love. But you know exactly what you need to do to make her love you again; you just need to tell her what she wants to hear. There’s just one problem with all of this: She’s not your wife, pastor. She belongs to Jesus.
By Joel A. Hess –
Since seminary, I have been told by seasoned pastors and “expert” first timers that pastoring is a tough, thankless job. They encouraged me to set boundaries so I don’t get lost in the work and forget about myself and my family. They scared me stiff, perhaps hoping I would not be overwhelmed by surprise when I went out on the front lines. The dark forecast was cast with even more doom and gloom for my wife. At seminary, there were groups for pastor’s wives that met like AA, all bellowing, “Nobody knows the troubles I’ve seen…”
By Cindy Koch –
If you are reading this, it means that Paul and I are still out hiking the John Muir Trail. I wanted to leave you with a few thoughts while we were out of touch this month. Yes, that’s right, 23 days on the trail—no phones. By now, we have been out of communication with the family for about a week. Writing this ahead of time, I predict I am somewhere absolutely beautiful, missing my kiddos a lot right about now. Even though they are a little older, it usually takes me about four days and then I need to talk to at least one of them. It’s strange, like a new mom who can’t sleep through the night because she just has to hear the baby breathing to be able to relax, my angst to know they are safe doesn’t really go away.
By Paul Koch –
A little framed picture hangs to the right of the door exiting my study which leads into the sanctuary of the church. Most people leaving through that door probably never even notice it, but I do. Though it is small, behind the glass is a simple and eloquent prayer. I’ve had it hanging on the wall of my study ever since I’ve had a study. I’ve read the words printed there so often that I have them memorized and simply looking at the dark mahogany frame causes me to recite them like some sort of strange Pavlovian reaction. It’s a prayer written by Luther, a prayer written for people like me. The first line reads:
By Bob Hiller –
As if I needed another reason to love Mike Trout, MLB’s commissioner has inadvertently offered me one. For those of you who don’t follow America’s pastime, Trout is arguably the best player in baseball. For what its worth, if you engage in arguing against that point, you’ll lose. If you’re a pitcher, he is a constant threat. Seven years in, he’s a career .300 hitter, batting .310 this year with 25 home runs and 50 RBIs (those are good numbers for the halfway point in a season, in case you’re wondering). I’m sure his weird analytical stats are money too. His arm is insane, and he is one of the top outfielders in the game. I think I can make a fairly good case that Trout’s swing is an aesthetic argument for the existence of God. He’s great with the fans, and somehow, for all he has going for him, he seems to stay out of the spotlight. At least, that weird spotlight we like to shine on our idols while looking for their warts.
By Jeff Pulse –
The Old Testament text for this Sunday, July 22, 2018, the ninth Sunday after Pentecost, is from the book of the prophet Jeremiah. The text is Jeremiah 23:1-6 and contains the very familiar Messianic reference of “The Righteous Branch” and the title, “The Lord is our Righteousness.” However, the pericope begins with a common prophetic condemnation of false and evil shepherds who have been charged to care for the LORD’s sheep. Like Ezekiel 34, the shepherds have neglected the sheep for their own needs. In some cases, they are guilty of abusing the flock causing them to scatter and run away. Thus, the LORD promises that He Himself will gather up the remnants and they will prosper under His shepherding. At that time He will appoint new shepherds—obviously shepherds who are “undershepherds” to Him and properly care and provide for His flock.
By Cindy Koch –
Well, that’s right. I’ve taken a long, lingering look over the last twenty years of marriage, and I’m actually going to go through with it. It’s been a long time coming, and I really can’t believe I’m brave enough to be doing this. This last month together, it has been an intense scramble of plans for this all to work out. But in one week—kids, minivan, dog, nice little neighborhood, cell phone, my favorite coffee cup—all of it will be left behind. I’m leaving.
By Paul Koch –
A few weeks back, I was honored to be able to preach for the ordination service of a long-time friend and son of our congregation. It is always exciting to attend an ordination. Though I’ve been to quite a few, over the years I still find myself listening carefully as the new candidate speak the same words that I did many years ago. They are vows or declarations of intent concerning how you will conduct yourself in the office of the Holy Ministry with the help of God.
By Hillary Asbury –
Domenikos Theotokopulos, born in the 16th century and commonly known as El Greco, is a European artist with one of the most distinctive styles of his time. Originally from Crete, he studied in Venice, worked in Italy for some time, and went on to heavily influence not only the Spanish Renaissance and generations of artists thereafter (Picasso and Cezanne among them), but his work was a major factor in the development of the Expressionist and Mannerist movements.
By Jeff Pulse –
The Old Testament text for this Sunday, July 15, 2018, the eighth Sunday after Pentecost, is from the book of the Minor Prophets. The text is Amos 7:7-15 and is from the section of Amos frequently referred to as “The Five Visions.” The first part of this pericope is the third vision, which is the vision of the plumbline.
By Paul Koch –
Just about 7 years ago I loaded up my family in our old blue minivan with a roof rack carrier loaded to the gills. The moving truck had already hauled all our stuff away and we began a long road trip out to California. It was exciting. When we had moved away from California, I had never imagined that I would live here again. But now we were coming back, back to the west coast, back to the beautiful weather, back even to the city of Ventura where I grew up and barely graduated high school. In fact, I was going back to the very church of my youth, where my former Sunday School teachers would now attend my classes. And from the moment that I accepted the call to be your pastor to the day that I was installed, and even for a few months afterwards, I would hear over and again the line from Mark 6, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown.”
By Tim Winterstein –
The word “harrowing” was invented for a documentary like Last Men in Aleppo (streaming on Netflix). It follows a group of men who have come to be called the White Helmets as they go about their work of digging people, dead and alive, out of the rubble of the Syrian city.
By Jonathan Holmes –
I don’t go on Facebook very often. If I do, it is usually to find jokes and other humorous tidbits, or the occasional theological writing that a friend has posted that might be worth reading. Besides, The Jagged Word, of course. However, not everybody trolls Facebook for the same reasons I do. What, you’re surprised?
By Joel Krogen –
I once had a phone interview with a congregation that revealed to me the length to which some people will go to avoid Scripture in the pursuit of being “relevant” to those around them (because, of course, the Word of God isn’t “relevant”—unbelievers around you are supposed to think you’re cool, then you’ll be ‘relevant’).
By Hillary Asbury –
Lately I have been reflecting on the unique challenges one faces when maintaining a creative career.
It’s a little odd, building a business by manufacturing products based on one’s private thoughts and feelings. My thoughts are inspired by many things—by experiences and certainly by Scripture. Those thoughts coalesce into a vision, and that vision eventually becomes a piece of artwork, which I will likely sell. Sometimes it feels as though I am selling my heart, my mind, my soul. It’s why, as a young artist, I found it difficult to let go of my work or sell it. It’s why many artists struggle to price their paintings.