The Color of Heaven

We had quite an international experience Friday night. Our friends, the Venkatesans, are from India and invited a few families over for dinner to celebrate Arun’s birthday (he’s a doctor here in St. Louis). In addition to the Venkatesans and us, there was another American family, another family from India, and a family from Pakistan [...]

“Just” Words?

We’ve had quite a discussion on the topic of, well, discussion, specifically that of teenagers and their misuse of “like,” “kinda,” “sorta,” etc. To clarify, the point I feel needs reiterating is that we are not trying to nit-pick kids’ language to death at the expense of being able to speak into their lives; rather, we are [...]

Walking the Line Between Loss and Hope

You may not know it (I didn’t), but on July 27th of 2005, Congress proclaimed October 15th Stillbirth Remembrance Day, also sometimes called Stillbirth and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. Though you might not know it, today is a hard day for many.
It may sound like a gigantic exaggeration, but almost every couple Megan and I know [...]

Harry Potter for Presbyterians

The Reformed folk of the world (among others) are gearing up for the release of the new ESV Study Bible on Wednesday. Around these parts (especially if you’re a seminary student), it’s going to be insane. I think of it as Harry Potter for Presbyterians.
This past Thursday, when I arrived at Covenant’s bookstore to work my afternoon [...]

Hurricane Ike Hits…St. Louis?

The remains of Hurricane Ike blew through the Midwest late last night and early this morning, downing a tree limb in our backyard, taking out power at our church (we worshipped by candlelight), and flooding the basement of the building that houses the More Than Carpentry ministry our church helps support in Wellston (to answer [...]

“…to serve musicians, to serve artists, to renew the city…”

Our associate pastor, Greg Johnson, just forwarded a review of the art show going on at The Chapel, the “sanctuary for the arts” run by our church. We’re thrilled about the good press, especially coming from The Vital Voice. Here’s an excerpt:
“I must confess that when I got there my mood was as wrinkled as my slept-in [...]

Eating (and Experiencing) God

“One’s position on the Supper is an accurate index of one’s understanding of the Christian faith as a whole.” The Lord’s Supper by Robert Letham (23)
Previous to embracing Reformed doctrine, I lived a majority of my Christian life with a Zwinglian understanding of the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper; that is, communion is a memorial [...]

Some Thoughts on the Holy Spirit

When I was on staff with The Navigators, I used to joke that we in the organization thought of the Holy Spirit as being the member of the Trinity dressed in a three-piece suit sitting quietly in the corner of the boardroom. As a member of the PCA, I sometimes make the same joke (except [...]

Summer Plans

My friend, Ed, asked for a post on what summer holds. Here it is.
1. I’m one of seven Westminster teachers taking 28 high school students on Summer Seminar to South Dakota for two weeks in June. Over the course of a 12-day trip to and through the Badlands and Black Hills of South Dakota, students will explore [...]

Dostoevsky on World History

While cramming lectures for my online church history class (which, as of today, I have 10 days to complete), I came across this quote from Dostoevsky’s Notes from Underground:
“You can say anything you like about world history, anything that might enter the head of a man with the most disordered imagination. One thing, though, you [...]

Linky, Linky

It’s usually feast or famine for me with links; today, I happen to be eating well. Here are some particularly inspiring links that I hope fill your creative cup and stick to your spiritual ribs:

If you’re not doing anything this weekend, think about checking out the Unversity of St. Louis’ StoryTelling Festival (we’re taking the [...]

Becoming More Like Them (part 2)

I resonate with Campagnola’s assessment, particularly when she writes:
“The contemporary church has often understood this verse (Matthew 18:3) to teach what great kingdom citizen character looks like – a child-like faith, humble and meek and ever ready to believe in Jesus. But Jesus took the disciples beyond the questions of character and greatness and challenged [...]

Becoming More Like Them (part 1)

“I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children,
you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Jesus, Matthew 18:3

“If growing up means it would be beneath my dignity to climb a tree,
I’ll never grow up, never grow up, never grow up, not me!”
Peter Pan, “I Won’t Grow Up”

Child-like. Childish. In most adult [...]

Coming to St. Louis

Here are two interesting events coming to town this week and in March:
A Conversation on Denominational Renewal
Tuesday-Thursday, February 26-28, 2008
Memorial Presbyterian Church
“What are our hopes for the church? In one sense, this is a deeply intimate question because it evokes the possibility of both disappointment and delight. And in another sense it is a [...]

It’s for the Kids

In a class on the topic of children’s ministry this weekend at Covenant. Regardless of how what I learn gets used in the church, having four kids in the age range, I’m interested (I figure it’s time to go back and learn what I thought I already knew about children and any ministry to them [...]

On Reading, Thinking, Learning

The best part about education is the worst part about education: the more you learn, the more you realize how much there is to learn. And then comes the worst realization of all: there’s no way or time to learn it all. And that stinks.
I experience this sensation everytime I walk into a library or [...]

How the Emerging Church Can Help the PCA

At the risk of overkill (and to bring closure – at least for now – to what ended up being this week’s topic du jour), I thought it might be interesting to consider some key contributions the emerging church movement might offer the PCA to make it more missional.
From my perspective, the biggest contribution would [...]

Listening to the Beliefs of Emerging Churches

As there’s been some good discussion in response to my previous post on Rob Bell, I thought I’d offer another resource for those interested in some further reading on the emerging church. Listening to the Beliefs of Emerging Churches is a quick read that includes contributions and responses from emerging leaders Mark Driscoll, John Burke, [...]

Emerging Evangelicalism?

Rob Bell was featured in Time last week, causing somewhat of a stir among the evangelical faithful that perhaps an heir apparent to the fading Billy Graham is emerging. Bell, of course, is used to “emerging” – he’s founding pastor of Mars Hill Church (which I think I visited once back in the mid-90’s but [...]

The Emerging…Synagogue?

Funny to read this article in light of the paper I’m writing this week on the emerging church. Here’s a Jewish version of the idea, as reported in The New York Times:
“There are no pews at Tikkun Leil Shabbat, no rabbis, no one with children or gray hair. Instead, one rainy Friday night, the young [...]