Living life with steps of faith

I feel like my brain is being re-wired.  Actually, whenever I read God's word I feel the fresh breath of the Spirit's wind cleansing out my mental cobwebs and giving me new clarity of thought.  But, today I have to admit a courage-giving movement of the Word in my life.  I return to what I knew, but with greater buy-in and more depth of understanding. Infertility can strike the core of one's gender identity.  Doesn't matter if you are a man or a woman - there is a part of your femininity or masculinity that is attacked.  Part of the healing process is a restoration or a new creation of that identity.  What does it mean to be a woman whose womb doesn't seem to work?  What does it mean to be a man whose arrows miss the target?  Our culture is over sexualized.  I think that is one reason that homosexuality gets so much attention - we care a little to much about our gender as it is related to our sexuality. We overemphasize this character t...

This morning I read the story of Joseph interpreting the Pharaoh's dream with the result being those living in Egypt were saved from a famine.    In this story, Joseph's response to Pharaoh's request to interpret the dream stood out to me, "I cannot do it, but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires." (Gen. 41:16)  Then I opened up my Bible and read from the 11th chapter of Hebrews and listened to the stories of people who took "risky" steps of faith, some resulting in their own torturous death.  This chapter concludes with these words, "the world was not worthy of them" (Heb. 11:38) and "These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us that only together with us would they be made perfect." (Heb. 11:39-40) I know a handful of people who have the faith of Joseph and could say "God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires" without ad...

"God has no more precious gift to a church or an age than a man who lives as an embodiment of his will, and inspires those around him with the faith of what grace can do." - Andrew Murray, Leadership (Fall 1986)

One of my favorite New Testament stories is of the Samaritan woman's encounter with Jesus at Jacob's well.  I love this story, because it models to me what it means to share the gospel.  In it, I am reminded to speak the truth in love, to invite my neighbor to have his or her thirst quenched by the Living Water, to use what is before me as a tool for witness, and to reach out to those who are marginalized by society.  I typically interpret the woman to represent in modern times those disfranchised in society by race, poverty, or culture.  But, today when I read it, I saw it in a new way.  The Samaritan woman had faith. She believed in the Torah and worshipped God.  She was at odds with the Jewish believer because she chose to worship God in a different way and she rejected parts of the Scriptures.  I read it and I heard an encounter between Jesus and a Muslim woman. I also heard the part about her having several husbands in a new way.  Previ...

A highlight of my week is often visiting the alcohol and tobacco shop located next door to our church.  Every time I go I am met with an unexpected and pleasant surprise.  One of the employees has decided that I am the store's pastor and that it is my responsibility to come by each week to bring a little Jesus into the store. Today when I went, it must have been in the midst of a shift change, because several employees were behind the counter.  One of the men who I am getting to know introduced me to another man as "the padre I've been telling you about, the one at the church next door."  This then started an entire conversation with employees asking where the church was because they hadn't remembered seeing one next door.   Our church is currently meeting in two connecting store fronts in a strip mall.  We don't yet have a traditional sign, so many people don't yet know we are there.  It is only by our relational presence in the community tha...

I was thinking the other day about how we give greater honor to those whose stories have been recorded.  It is almost as if one's work doesn't matter unless it is published.  But, this isn't how it works in God's kingdom.  This morning I read Jesus' words as recorded in John 4:38, "I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor."  Who are these other people? In the church, we frequently rely upon the stories of the New Testament, for obvious reasons.  But, we also tend to tell the New Testament stories that are louder and take more space.  The disciples get a lot of attention.  Here, in John, Jesus acknowledges that the disciples have the easy job--they get to reap what others have sown. But look at what, or should I say, "who," Jesus is pointing to here.  Jesus is recognizing that many of his followers have worked quite hard to get people to the feet of Jesus. ...

A good friend of mine who is a pastor in Iowa recently blogged about the tension she feels as a person and a pastor in regards to her attendance at a caucus.  I appreciate what she wrote, so I want to share a link to this post: "Confession of Repentant - Iowa Caucus" Here is my response to what she wrote: "I'm glad you wrote about this.  I was wondering the same question this morning.  I know how Iowans feel about pastors expressing themselves politically - more than one pastor has lost his/her job as a result.  I understand and respect the boundaries of the pastoral role, but I too wondered how this works itself out in a caucus situation.  If you attend the Republican caucus, no one may know how you voted, but they know that you attended the Republican caucus.  If you attend the Democrat caucus, everyone who also attends knows exactly how you vote.  I thought about the importance of attending to show the value of participating in this US American...

I'm actually creating this blog for the purpose of receiving responses .  I want to hear from the people on the world wide web what they have learned about the differences in the lexicon or dictionary of evangelical and mainline Christians.  From my experience dancing between and in both worlds, I have discovered that often these two practices of Christianity will talk past each other even when they are discussing the same thing.  I think there are times when representatives of each perspective will agree with each other even though they don't really agree.  There are other times where representatives will be having heated arguments and they are saying the same thing, but using different terms.  So, I want to hear what you have heard - how do you translate the conversation? For example.  My evangelical friends may ask, "When did you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior?"  While my mainline friends would ask, "When did your faith become...

There are times that my arrogance makes it difficult for me to recognize my sins. At other times I realize that things are sins that I hadn't previously recognized as sin. Most of the time though, when I read passages about controlling the tongue, I am convicted of sin. When I was in college the idea of having an accountability partner was a big deal. Staff at our school would talk about meeting with another Christian or a small group of Christians to ask each other questions that would keep us accountable. The problem for my roommate and I when we decided to become accountability partners was that we had no clue what questions to ask each other. The lists provided by the school were not helpful and the questions we created for ourselves were too specific and they touched areas of our lives that we were not yet ready to change. Our hearts were not ready and we had not been given adequete resources. Yesterday I read the assigned lectionary Scriptures for this past Sunday. They ...

Tonight God taught me a very important lesson. Over the years when I have "let go, let God" I have handed over aspects of my life to God and said "here God, if you want to take it away, I trust you." But what I realize now is that this is an Old Covenant way of thinking. When Abraham took Isaac up the mountain to sacrifice him, he was ready for God to take Isaac away. But that is not what God did--instead God redeemed Isaac! God redeems! So, to "let go" and to "Let God" is to trust God in what we know to be God's character. God is a giver of life. God redeems. God brings fruit! So tonight I hand over with joy all aspects of my life and I hand over everything with a sense of giving out of my abundance, knowing that God receives this gift and will handle it in a manner that is truly good and life-giving! Tonight I "let go, Let God" knowing that God does and will redeem!

This morning as I took a shower I dream about a sermon series I will do once I am the pastor of a church. It was a series that would take place in the summer and the theme would be bio-ethics. I thought about how I would start collecting information in different files for different possible sermon topics, speakers I would have come for an adult Sunday afternoon VBS, and a fun children's Sunday School/VBS curriculum that I could design. Switching between regions of the United States gives me access to whole new kind of resource. My current job has connected me with Christians who are experts in their fields and have learned how to integrate their faith with their work. There is a gift in this. But there is also a gift in my home region and that is a sense of stability and intimacy among a Christian community. In that region I imagine myself doing sermon series that go deeper into one's spiritual walk in a different way. I would still do a bioethics series, but it would probab...

"In the beginning..." Today I started reading through the Bible, Creation to the Throne of God. In just about 5 months I will be ordained as a minister in the Christian church. When I met with the pastor of my home congregation to discuss the ordination process, he challenged me to consider how I might spiritually prepare for ordination. One of the ways I decided to prepare was by reading through the whole Bible between now and then. While I was on my intercultural immersion study trip in east Kentucky, I learned a lot about the relationship between humans and the earth. I was reminded of how I am lacking in my appreciation for and understanding of nature. Consequently, I feel led to use the Green Bible as my source of devotion for this time period of preparation. I also hope to reflect upon nature by planting a garden this spring and reading from my undergraduate Environmental Studies book. Today's reading was the story of Creation and Re-Creation through the flood. ...

Wow! I came across this great statement today in a book I am reading about pastoral vocational clarity. I thought I would share it here - I think it is quite prophetic! "A pastor who is calling laity from their busy lives to committee meetings, workshops, house cleanings, and work sessions more often than to prayer and worship is serving the present confusion about the true nature and identity of God's ecclesia in the world. More times of prayer, study, and meditation; expanded opportunities of worship; and calling the faithful into sacred space for sacred time in sacred togetherness will help lead the church into its true vocation." - Victor L. Hunter in "Desert Hearts and Healing Fountains: Gaining Pastoral Vocational Clarity." p. 41

"Have mercy on me!" How often have I heard a begger cry out these words or words like them. Arm outstretched, cup held out, "Have mercy on me!" I purposely don't carry cash so that I will have an excuse not to give, but perhaps I should purposely carry cash for the purpose of giving. "Have mercy on me!" Imagine this, Jesus walking down the road with his followers, on their way out of Jericho they pass by some beggers on the side of the road. They continue walking. Jesus continues walking! Meanwhile, this blind man on the side of the road hears a crowd approaching as usual, but something about their conversation sounds different. He tunes in his attention and catches a few words "healing" "see that look on their faces" "faith" "the words..." He realizes that Jesus and his students are about to cross his path. Jesus, the one who he has heard can heal his blindness, so that he once again will be able to see! The...

"What are my blind spots?"... What are my blind spots? What are they? The advantage of the person who is physically blind is that they and everyone around them is aware of their blindness. But spiritual blindness? Perhaps everyone around me is aware of my blind spots, but am I? Yesterday I was reading from the book of Hebrews and I noted the style of writing and how it sounded like my peers who overly speak Christianise. Maybe, we are supposed to speak Christianise... Maybe this language is supposed to come out strong... In our small group, the leader has that goofy, smiley young conservative Christian look on his face and words like "Lord," and "brother," and "humility" come flowing freestyle from his lips. It makes me uncomfortable. I excuse my uncomfortableness by considering myself a more mature Christian and having a better understanding of how to be a witness to the world,... but perhaps he is right and I am the one who is immature, self...

Recently, my husband and I visited Mars Hill's main campus in Seattle, Washington. While there, I picked up a devotional on the books of 1 and 2 Peter . At the time I had been studying 1 Peter on my own and thought it was a bit of a coincidence that this was the focus of the church at the time. Anyway, at the beginning of the study, the first question asked is, "What does it mean to be a citizen of the Kingdom of God?" Here I write my answer, noting that I do not reference any Scripture or theological texts, but rather just write from the top of my head - what is my first response today? What does it mean to be citizens of the Kingdom of God? It means that we are called to live life differently – we operate under a different system of law. God is our ruler. Our citizenship is given to us. Much like how I am born as a citizen of the United States, so too I am born a citizen of the Kingdom of God. But just as there are naturalized citizens of this country, so too we are...

As I read Mark 6:30-33 today images of a ministry team full of excitement surrounding their much loved leader came to mind. Much like a group of children reporting to their grandparents about a family adventure or school children reporting what they saw on their fieldtrip to the zoo, the disciples surrounded Jesus, clamoring over one and another to share the details of their encounters with the powerful gospel that transforms lives. And what does Jesus do in response? Does he send them forth to do more ministry since the fields are ripe but the harvesters are few? No, he blesses them and calls them away to a time of retreat in the wilderness. He recognizes that the harvest is ripe and that if his pupils remain where they are they will not have space for rest, leisure, or physical nourishment. Jesus calls the disciples aside for a retreat in the wilderness. He not only cares for their ministries, but also cares for their individual spirits. As ministers of the gospel today, it is i...

I don't think I'm going to answer the above mentioned question. Instead, I have another question to ask, What does it mean to be a child of God living in the end times? What I mean is, how does the context of thinking the end is near influence how one lives as God's child? Yes, we do not know the day or hour, or even the year of the Lord's return, but we do know that it is approaching quickly and more quickly then it was approaching an hour, day, or year ago. Throughout Scripture Paul talks of the approaching end of days and instructs us on how we are to live. The writer of Hebrews tells us "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching." (Hebrews 10:25) Yes, I recognize that the capitalization of the word "day" is the work of the collection of editors, but that doesn't change my question. If each day and each hour we are closer to the re...

"The fiestas of the poor are truly celebrations: the poor have a reason to celebrate. Hence their celebrations are joyful, free, and spontaneous, whereas the celebrations of the rich tend to be more of a tedious chore than a spontaneous joy. They appear to be having a good time while inwardly they are worrying about wearing the right outfit, saying the right things, doing the right things, mixing with the right persons, and impressing everyone aroudn withthe multiple masks that everyone puts on to impress the others. In effect, the celebrations of the 'dignitaries' of this world are anything but joyful. How could they be joyful when they are segregated and segregating, and potentially destructive of all who take part in them? Thus it is out of the celebrations of the poor, which will always be a scandal to the rich who are not capable of truly liberative celebrations, that God's universal and barrier-destroying love will erupt for all to experience and enjoy. Part...

Can we hear what culture is saying when it pushes back on us? (And here I mean "us" as any "group" with which you the reader identify.)