Stewardship in Worship
I hadn’t heard of Rachel Held Evans until her shocking death last month at the age of 37. I don’t tweet, and I’m a lot older than Millennials. But in her case that was my loss – I celebrate her intentionally generous life as an “apostle to outsiders,” and am grateful for how her influence…
Read MoreA longtime friend just asked me, “How do each of us grow a passion for one project or another?” Clearly none of us can give in response to every need, so what prompts us to choose one or some ministries over all the rest? Certainly he’s not the first person to ask that. In fact,…
Read MoreThe news was terrifying wherever we looked last night, May 28, with mind-numbing numbers: 500 tornados touched down in the last thirty days, roaring through 22 U.S. states. Heavy rains, flash flooding, continuing storms, tornados everywhere. “It looks like a war zone,” said dazed residents, looking over the rubble of their communities. Yet in the…
Read MoreIn Mutuality and Thanksgiving I said, “Thanksgiving is not a season. It’s an orientation of our minds and hearts that naturally flows into a lifestyle of generosity, of mutual giving and receiving.” But the process of giving and receiving is not only a two-way affair. As science-of-generosity researchers have noted, people who know others involved…
Read More“Mission” is one of those words often used in the Church, but without a clear meaning. The term can be a cover-up for all kinds of religious activities. But mission is more than a name or a program. It’s a calling and a passion. An individual’s personal mission is what he or she is meant…
Read MoreToday marks the beginning of Christian Family Week. That can be a limited thing if it brings up a certain U.S. stereotype – perhaps a Leave It to Beaver image of a stay-at-home mom, successful-gone dad and 2.2 kids in a 1950s white suburb. But these days families come in all types and sizes, like…
Read MoreMany of us may be familiar with the terms “Vespers” and “Compline,” used for special evening worship services. But these are actually just two of seven prayer times, or “offices,” that help us remember the events in Jesus’ life and ministry in worshipful observance throughout any given twenty-four-hour period. This daily rhythm is called canonical…
Read MoreI’m pleased to announce that my new book is now out: Growing Generous Souls: Becoming Grace-Filled Stewards! It invites church leaders and individuals to stop racing from one activity to another and instead to focus on being rather than on compulsive doing and consuming. The book includes reflection questions and resources to help people move…
Read MoreI was in my twenties, out of college and in seminary, before I learned about the seasons of the “Christian Year.” Like many Protestants, I experienced Sunday as the Bible’s “first day of the week,” the worship anchor for each week of the year. But it was easy to see each Sunday as a one-shot…
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