Willow, my 3 year old, recently told me that her sister was “big” and so that meant that I was “(add large arm gestures) SUUUPER BIG”. Willow’s perspective shows us something of the problem that we have with growth as Christians. Most of the time we consider that we are growing into the image of…
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Posts from 2021
This coming Sunday is Gaudete Sunday, which around University Lutheran is known as “Pink Candle Sunday.” So far I have succeeded in my liturgical reform concerning this Sunday by getting at least 50% of our worshipers to show up for this Sunday wearing pink (or something gaudy). I’m hoping for 75% this year. The notion…
I remember asking a little kid what he wanted to be when he grew up and getting a pretty surprising answer from the youngster. “I want to be wise,” he said. I chuckled a little and asked a follow up question, “So how are you going to get to be wise?” “I dunno,” the young…
This is the first week of Advent, which means that it’s a new Church Year, which means that it is time to announce our annual focus for the year! If you’re new to University Lutheran’s annual focus, it is a theme that we keep in mind throughout the year. This year’s focus is the first…
This coming Sunday ends our “Done by Hope” annual focus year. It seems hard to believe that we started this church year off in the calendar year 2020. Over the past year we have engaged quite a bit in our hopes. The name “Done by Hope” came from a quote from Martin Luther. Luther said…
My three daughters have recently gotten into telling jokes – specifically “knock knock” jokes. It isn’t uncommon for them to say “knock knock” at dinner, have us say “who’s there?” and then respond with something…unintelligible. Same with the “why did the chicken…” jokes. There is something interesting about the knock knock joke. It gets you…
In March of 2020, just as the COVID pandemic was coming into our cultural realizations in the United States, Jeff Christopherson released a book with the odd title “Venal Dogmata”. Venal Dogmata is a short book, Christopherson even calls is a parable, about what might happen in the United States if the church were to…
In the 500’s BC, the city of Sardis was the capital of King Croesus. Sardis was a citadel that sat high above the surrounding countryside. Any attacking army would have to attempt to climb the elevated position of Sardis and then break through the high walls. Everyone thought this was impossible. Sardis was an impregnable…
Jezebel. The name probably means something to you even if you don’t remember everything about the Biblical figure. Jezebel was the wife of Ahab, the king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. She, herself though, was not an Israelite. She was a native of the nation of Tyre, modern day Lebanon. As such, she didn’t…
I won’t say that I have never written a newsletter article from a bathroom in Atlanta, but it’s definitely not a regular occurrence for me. For those of you who have not heard, my 6 year old daughter has been diagnosed with cancer behind her eye. We’re currently at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta trying…