As a part of the candidacy process for ordination in the United Methodist Church one is required to type up and submit answers to a number of different questions and prompts. As I approach my meeting with the District Committee on Ordained Ministry on Thursday, February 23, I will be posting a few of my [...]
Read more →As a part of the candidacy process for ordination in the United Methodist Church one is required to type up and submit answers to a number of different questions and prompts. As I approach my meeting with the District Committee on Ordained Ministry on Thursday, February 23, I will be posting a few of my [...]
Read more →As a part of the candidacy process for ordination in the United Methodist Church one is required to type up and submit answers to a number of different questions and prompts. As I approach my meeting with the District Committee on Ordained Ministry on Thursday, February 23, I will be posting a few of my [...]
Read more →Is that I’ve been working on this: Check it out. I’ve written posts over there though, and that sort of counts.
Read more →two verses from Cecil Alexander’s Once in Royal David’s City (1848), as sung by Sufjan Stevens (2002): He came down to earth from Heaven, Who is God and Lord of all, And His shelter was a stable, And His cradle was a stall; With the poor, oppressed, and lowly, Lived on earth our Savior holy. And our eyes [...]
Read more →Writing about Wesley is hard. He uses a lot of expressions that I find archaic, and the ways he deals with some concepts rubs me the wrong way. Two related examples. First, his usage of ‘heart’ is difficult for me because I’m worried about how it might be participating in the popular dichotomy between “head” [...]
Read more →from Sara Groves’ adaptation of It Came Upon a Midnight Clear (2008): You beneath life’s crushing load, Whose forms are bending low, Who toil along the climbing way With painful steps so slow; Look now, for glad and golden hours Come swiftly on the wing; Oh, rest beside the weary road And hear the angels, and [...]
Read more →Digging through old drafts of blog posts the other day I found the following post, last edited April 2, 2010. It seems like a relatively complete thought, and I have no idea why I didn’t post it then. So I’m posting it now. In my reading from the Church Dogmatics this morning, ol’ Karl was [...]
Read more →I recently asked a friend and colleague if she knew where the term “student ministry” came from, and why so many people use it. She wasn’t really sure, but she did point me to this blog post guest authored by Christian Smith that served to confirm my apprehension about that way of speaking of our [...]
Read more →“All the blessings which God hath bestowed upon man are of his mere grace, bounty, or favor…” Everything we have is from God’s grace, and grace alone. Our existence, the image of God, the fact that we’re alive right now, and even our good works are all only by God’s grace. This is a helpful [...]
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