Faith

The Narrative That Re-Plots Our Identity

The Good News is not just a series of facts to which we yield our assent but a dramatic narrative that replots our identity. Think of it in terms of a theatrical play. Each week we come to church with our own scripts. If yours is anything like mine, it’s “the show about nothing.” Yet [...]

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Brian McLaren’s New Book and the Use of the Word ‘Heretic’

Brian McLaren has written a new book, A New Kind of Christianity: Ten Questions That Are Transforming the Faith.  I’ve followed some of the blog chatter in response, and while there are some supportive and gracious reviews, too many have taken on a vitriolic tone.  Healthy, vigorous discussion of ideas has given way to name-calling [...]

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Truth Is Not An Abstract Idea

I’ve written on this blog before about truth.  I’m “in process,” developing my thinking on this divisive concept (is it absolute, relative, or something in between?), but I thought this quote from N.T. Wright was helpful, if not provocative: Truth is like health.  A doctor doesn’t keep ‘health’ in his or her back pocket simply [...]

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Wondering What To Give Up for Lent?

As I explained in a previous post, this lenten season for me is all about giving up and taking on …  so, let me offer a thought on what to give up for Lent. Maggi Dawn, in her new Lent devotional, gives some insight into the history of “giving it up” during this season:  “There’s [...]

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Preparing for Lent: Renewal and Rest

Giving up and taking on … these two phrases reflect my approach to Lent this year.  First, I will identify things in my life to “give up” – things in which I’ve (mis)placed my dependence and trust.  Second, I will identify a couple of spiritual practices to “take on” – practices that will increase my [...]

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The Power of Narrative

“Neither revolution nor reformation can ultimately change a society, rather you must tell a new powerful tale, one so persuasive that it sweeps away the old myths and becomes the preferred story, one so inclusive that it gathers all the bits of our past and our present into a coherent whole, one that even shines [...]

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Reaching Across the Counter

This morning, I had an interesting conversation, but it’s what I over-heard afterward that has stuck with me. Over the past year or so, when I’ve come into a local restaurant for breakfast, I’ve had occasional conversations with a certain employee.  At some point I realized she knew that I was a pastor, though I’d [...]

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The Boundaries of God’s Grace: Toward a Larger Vision of Truth

In preparing to speak this Sunday on Luke 4:22-30, I’m struck by the ways Jesus (then and now) challenges our boundaries and blows open the scope of his grace. The Quaker author and activist, Parker Palmer, writes in The Company of Strangers: Christians & the Renewal of America’s Public Life: “At the heart of any [...]

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