I'm writing from Oxford, where I learned that--once more--the Anglican communion is in turmoil. The Archbishop of Canterbury has affirmed the Church of England's 1998 ruling that named gay sex as sin and also declined to seek the authority to punish provinces that fail to uphold that ruling. To be a tad tongue in cheek, …
Five characteristics of effective pastors today
I was ordained to the pastorate in 2010 although I had been serving in campus ministry since 2004. Of all my ministry roles, being the pastor of a local church has been the most enjoyable and also the most challenging. Effective pastoral ministry in 2022 looks very different from what I expected when I graduated …
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Murder in the suburbs
My daughter and I returned from the Wheaton July 4th parade to the news that six people had been murdered at the Highland Park parade. Highland Park is another suburb some 25 miles from us. I know a few people who live in that part of the northern suburbs. And its striking to conceive that …
Lent is for a world on fire
The world seems like it's on fire. Photo by Cole Keister on Pexels.com As I write my extended family is mourning the untimely death of a son, husband, father, and brother. Ukraine is valiantly trying to bear up under the yoke of Russian aggression. The United States has suffered another State of the Union address--the …
My favorite devotional book
Several years ago now, my Mom sent me a devotional book out of the blue. I grew up reading My Utmost for His Highest, but it had been more than a decade since I'd moved on from that veretable classic of evagenlical devotion. Over the years, I've found that I don't like many devotional books. …