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Why the Stage
If you’ve ever been to more than one church, you’re sure to notice that each one is different. Just like when you visit someone else’s home, you find there’s always something they do differently, no matter how much you otherwise have in common. For the past seven years, my family and I have attended a church that’s a little different than any other we’ve been to. It includes a strong emphasis on theater. Theater?! you say. Isn’t church for sermons? Worship music? Teaching? Prayer? Helping others? Sending missionaries? Yes. We do those things, too—not perfectly, of course, but we’re always working to get better. And some of those things might…
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Forgiving the Reformation
A lot of people seem to think that seminary is where you get all the answers. They’re wrong. Well, either that or I just don’t go to one of “those” seminaries. My experience has been that instead of receiving answers to my questions, I’ve been stripped of many of the answers I thought I had and been given more questions in return. Now I don’t say this to complain; I happen to think that’s the way it should be. But that doesn’t mean every day is a party either. One of the ways I’ve been challenged in seminary was the place of tradition in my theology. Specifically it was the…
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Gifts Like White Elephants
We think of Christmas as a time to give gifts, and the marketplace rejoices. I admit I have been too hard on them in recent years; they are just responding to us, same as they always have, same as they always will. Instead, let us turn our gaze inward, fellow gift-givers. Have you ever noticed how much we give and how little we sacrifice? We don’t just give gifts, we trade them. And we feel terrible if we get something and don’t reciprocate—even worse if we give something and get nothing in return. Granted, we will gladly give to someone who has legitimate need without expecting something in return. Children…