Jesus is the incarnation of God, right? Brown flesh, red blood, white bones. Hair that was brushed, a voice that was heard, feet that were sandaled. Jesus was God who, honest-to-goodness, could be experienced with our five senses. God was real, accessible, and concrete. Jesus’s life and teaching showed us what the kingdom of God was like in actions and metaphors that used our five senses to apprehend: bread broken and wine poured a found coin forgiveness of a friend for their betrayal, even before the betrayal occurred enjoyment of the company of “undesirables” breaking the rules in ..read more

I just attended Festival of Homiletics in Pittsburgh. It was fabulous, as it is every year! I heard from amazing preachers and attended inspiring, practical workshops. And I don’t want it to go to waste! I want to milk every penny’s worth out of the experience. What about you? What have you done to improve your preaching? If you’re like most of us, you have… bought books read some of them discovered a couple of great tips you incorporated for a few sermons Mostly, though, you got fired up about preaching for your next few sermons, and then the books started to gather dust. You’ve prob ..read more

I learned a journaling practice that has changed my life.  It’s a combination of practices I learned from two author-teachers: Jacob Nordby, who wrote The Creative Cure: How Finding and Freeing Your Inner Artist Can Heal Your Life (a book I highly recommend) Amie McNee, from whom I learned the art of affirmation during journaling during a writer’s retreat. She’s a writing coach you can find at The Inspired Collective.) Between the two, the practice has changed my life.  Because of this journaling practice: I am more in tune with myself and my needs I extend self-compa ..read more

Work is something we seldom discuss in Church. Stories of work and the holiness of work are threads we seldom pull, despite the time and energy our work consumes. However, when we turn to Scripture, we find that the Bible has a lot to say about work, both our own and God’s. Scripture illuminates this truth: work is deeply connected with worship, justice, healing, holiness, Sabbath keeping. and rest. In fact, according to the Bible, work is designed to be one of the primary ways we worship. In God’s vision, work and worship are seamless, emerging from and flowing into, the same divine source ..read more

“Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark... (John 20.1). It was the earliest part of a new day and a new week—and a new life, though Mary didn’t know this yet. All Mary knew was that there was no sun. There was no sun yet on the horizon to show where to place each footstep on her way to the tomb. Alone, she received no ray of warmth from a companion who might have shared the anticipated agony of washing and preparing the body of the man who was more beloved and precious than a brother. There was no glimmer to lead towards a future beyond grief and bewilderment, no escape ..read more

“I believe in Christ, like I believe in the sun— not because I can see it, but by it I can see everything else.” —C.S. Lewis Isn't that just the truth? When we live into the light of Jesus Christ, we see all things by Christ's illumination and we behave differently as a result. When we see God's creation through the light of Christ, we marvel at God's imagination and are drawn to protect God's handiwork. When we see our relationships with family members, friends, neighbors, and colleagues through the light of Christ, we marvel at the unique image of God they reveal to us and are drawn to ..read more

The Case for Preaching the Passion on Palm Sunday & Good Friday Some preachers feel it is not necessary to preach on Palm Sunday or Good Friday. The Passion speaks for itself, the thinking goes. The story is so rich, so full of awe, so packed with meaning—there is simply nothing we could say to add to its profundity. I appreciate the humility in that perspective, because it can feel that anything we add to the story is anti-climactic at best. However, I encourage preachers to offer a homily on Palm Sunday and Good Friday for three reasons. 1) We can’t assume listeners know the context Bibl ..read more

Leonardo da Vinci was a genius. Painter, sculptor, inventor… If he imagined it, he created it. But how did he get to imagining his creations? By getting curious and asking questions about his subject. Consider just a few of the qualities he examined/questioned in his notebooks as he prepared to draw a river, as Twyla Tharp shares in her book, The Creative Habit: Learn and Use It for Life (Kindle edition, pp. 175-176): Of the different rates of speed of currents from the surface of the water to the bottom. Of the different cross slants between the surface and the bottom. Of the different dept ..read more

5 Biggest Blocks to Effective, Creative Sermon Prep How we set ourselves up for sermon prep makes all the difference in our experience of preaching. Below are five common mistakes preachers make that block effective, efficient sermon prep. When we overcome these obstacles, our creativity expands and we craft sermons we believe in and are excited to offer. And the process more often happens when we want (e.g., not during our personal time!), so we stay motivated and excited to share the Good News. Block #1: Preaching out of obligation  This block is a risk any time we take a well-loved pa ..read more

Why does preaching growth matter? What is the purpose of improving skills, honing our craft, and learning new techniques? Ultimately, improving our sermon craft results in more compelling preaching, which of course benefits our listeners who hear Good News and experience freedom from the sin, shame, legalism, or pain of living in this imperfect world with imperfect humans. But growth in our preaching craft provides freedom for us, the preacher, too. The more skilled we become, the freer we become to execute the preaching vision in our head—even if that vision is risky, unfamiliar, or challeng ..read more