He took him. He took him by the hand. But it wasn’t enough. What were they looking for? What did they expect? These friends that believed so deeply that things could change, that things could get better. They dragged him forward, out of the masses and into the spotlight of specificity. I don’t think … [Read More]
The Christmas Story and the God I didn’t want
What do you do with an estranged God? Maybe estranged isn’t the right word. It surely is strange, though, this whole “Christmas” thing. God becomes human, a human born to a poor family. This is God, right? He’s powerful and what not – couldn’t he be born into royalty or power or wealth? No, … [Read More]
Of Broken Hearts and Beatitudes
Blessed are the poor in spirit; theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. It may be that when we no longer know what to do we have come our real work, and that when we no longer know which way to go we have come to our real journey. The mind that is not baffled … [Read More]
A Packet of Yeast, A Half Cup of Water
A packet of yeast and a half cup of warm water. I mixed them, let them sit… and hoped the yeast would bubble. You can’t make good bread without yeast that’s active. Gosh, it’s been a day. My brain feels full to the brim. Deeper and deeper we go, into the world of another. … [Read More]
Zwischenzeiten and Shards of Glass
There are glass shards everywhere. Of course there are, it’s Sunday morning. Club 27 is right down the street from my apartment, and everyone knows that it’s no party if there are not drunkenly broken bottles there the next morning. It’s a small wonder that the broom is practically a cultural icon here. It’s Sunday … [Read More]
Whispers in the Middle
“It gets easier.” Not all at once. Not even gradually. It comes in waves, difficulty. The choppiness seems all-consuming at first, and then you start to find the rhythm of the swells. Anticipation is out of the question… that would be too easy. No, you’re always in the middle of it. There’s no practice run … [Read More]
Sneaking Things
It sneaks up on you, that culture shock thing. You may think it’s happening, but it probably isn’t. You probably don’t think it’s happening, but all of a sudden you’re really sad or really mad or really both all at once and you don’t know why or how… and it’s probably happening. It’s wanting to … [Read More]
One Week In…
Can you age a year in a week? That is all that it has been. One week. One week since I arrived on a plane in Stuttgart, having a cold drizzle welcome me to my new home in Germany. One week since I said goodbye to my friends, family, and way of living in the … [Read More]
Fear. Faith. Four Weeks.
“But what no one has the right to do is let others suppose that faith is something inferior or that it is an easy matter, when in fact it is the greatest and most difficult of all.” – Søren Kierkegaard, Fear and Trembling Let me confess, there is nothing easy about this. This. This life. … [Read More]
Moving Beyond Epistemophilia: An Experiment in Resurrection
Here we go again. Tomorrow at 1:00pm I hop back on an airplane. This time, the destination is 2,500 miles south and east, to Atlanta, Georgia. There’s another group of people who are willing to take me in and teach me what they have learned about campus ministry. I will visit a group at GA … [Read More]