Pastor Blog
Scars
Still bearing the scars of his wounding on earth, Jesus identifies deeply with humanity, even in our deepest suffering and loss.
Band Camp, Banjoes, Bluegrass, and Jesus
Pastor Robert shares about an experience at “Camp Bluegrass” as an illustration of the kind of church we might aspire to have.
Thoughts and Prayers
THOUGHTS are powerful things. Indeed, Jesus taught that our thoughts come out of our hearts, revealing who we really are. The Christian scriptures speak of “taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” And those same scriptures are described as a two-edged sword, “able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Believers are…
Seeing What We Can’t Yet See
Sharing about faith transmits important information, but God must provide the kindling spark that is faith.
Worry and the Value of Practice
What do you fear? For some it may be close to the surface and easy to name. Others may have to think a little harder. Having trouble with that? Let me prime the pump a bit: spiders, snakes, the dark, being alone, a certain person, your boss, your parents, your kids, the future, the Democrats, the Republicans, losing something, never finding something, not…
I Don’t Have Enough for That
I’m so busy. I don’t have time to exercise. I have so much to do AND I only slept four hours last night. I have thought and said and done all those things in my life. But I’ve also realized the futility of borrowing health from the future to get through the present. And (probably) because I’m a pastor, I have seen correlations between my attitudes…
Truth Landing
We are no longer to be children, tossed here and there…but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ… (Eph. 4:14a, 15) Consider this online exchange from the past week (names have been changed for privacy’s sake). Timothy: Here’s my newest hymn, written this afternoon and sung to the tune of [a familiar…
New Name, True Name
Years ago I was playing a name game with some elementary-aged children at church. I asked each child to say their first name, preceded by a word that described them and started with the same letter as their name. So we had “marvelous Mary” and “sweet Sarah.” I was “royal Robert” or something like that. And then we got to Brock. Brock was…