Many years ago, I visited a Sunday school class at a church where the conversation revolved around what the Christian life should look like. The consensus seemed to think that soldiering through life without acknowledging struggles or burdening other people was the right and noble way to follow Jesus. Stoically. Quietly. Solitarily. It was the […]
Read MoreHow to Move a Church
Have you ever tried to move a church? Our church has a unique story that involves a merge between a predominantly white church and a predominantly black church to form a gospel-centered, multiethnic church that is committed to faithful exposition of the Word and incarnational ministry in our community.[1] The merge resulted in the ownership […]
Read MoreBend Me Toward the Light
Every Thursday, I water my indoor plants. I’ve got a fiddle-leaf fig tree (a plant well known for its finicky nature and a proclivity to simply die without warning) standing tall and proud by a window with southern exposure. I’ve noticed, though, that this little tree bends itself dramatically toward the window even though it’s […]
Read MoreThe Fruit of Discipleship
When I was growing up, my mom kept a large bowl of fruit on the kitchen counter. Every week when she did her grocery shopping, she bought apples, oranges, and bananas to refill the bowl. I remember her polishing each apple individually to make them look appealing. There were no rules around snacking when it […]
Read MoreYou Can’t Measure the Most Important Things
I bought a watch last year to measure my steps and heartrate. I’m a generally a little resistant to trends and therefore usually late to them, but I felt like measuring my physical exertion would result in more of it, thus I bought a watch. Even so, I refused to spend more than $25 on […]
Read MoreRepent No More
Growing up in the church, I remember one of my Sunday school teachers demonstrating the word repentance by walking across the room, stopping abruptly, and turning around to walk back in the other direction. In my young mind, I figured that repentance was something that happened when you first believed in Jesus, and after that, […]
Read MoreOrdinary Sunday
“Church today,” I wrote in my journal early Sunday morning. “I could really use the fellowship. I’m feeling low.” I put down my pen. I hadn’t slept much. It was a relief to know I’d soon be among my church family, distracted from the interior concerns running through my mind. Better than distracted, I knew […]
Read MoreThe Manna is Always There
I have a plastic bin filled with beans hidden in my basement. I packed that bin two years ago when I, like everyone else, worried about food supplies. I’ve borrowed from the bin a little, but if you need rice or dried beans, I’ve got you covered. I also have gallons of water in case […]
Read MoreA Bit of Earth
We moved in with my grandparents twice during my childhood. The first time, I was five years old, and my mom was in a wheelchair for months after giving birth to my sister. We stayed with my grandparents in their small house in an old Memphis neighborhood for nearly a year, until my mom could […]
Read MoreChasing Sunsets
“Let’s chase the sunset,” I told my son. We were driving to our weekly kid’s club at our church’s community center, and we glimpsed the sinking sun through the trees. In this corner of southern Missouri, flat isn’t quite the word to describe the landscape. This is farming country, and the fields stretch for miles […]
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