Almost a decade ago, we removed the American flag from the sanctuary of the church I was pastoring. I don’t remember why. It was probably a part of decorating for Advent. But it got put in such a safe place that […]
Category: Faith
A simple spiritual health survey
What does spiritual health and maturity look like? How do I gauge where I’m at and where I need to grow? When I think of discipleship — a life of following Jesus — I see […]
The Force Awakens & the God who "never slumbers or sleeps"
Last night, our youngest child stumbled into our bedroom. He couldn’t sleep. Despite a bedroom encircled with Christmas lights to keep the midnight wraiths away, he’d had nightmares again. So, he slid between my wife […]
The keys to successful resolutions — incremental, measurable, achievable
As we prepare to step into a new year, I often do the resolution thing. I know that most resolutions that most of us set for ourselves don’t make it past the first few weeks of […]
Prayer is simply keeping company with God
Every now and then I come across a book where the title alone is enough for me. In fact, when I read it, I discover that the rest of the book is really just helping […]
A basic Bible-reading guide
There are lots of plans for reading through the Bible. Each has its merit and I invite you to try several. The most important thing is to actually do some and to do it as […]
Getting real — four pegs to hang your life on
Our lives are a complex mass of thoughts, emotions, relationships, and activities. And there is no time of the year that is free from experiencing personal traffic jams. With four kids in four different schools and all their […]
What watching Star Wars teaches us about reading the Bible
[Be forewarned. There will be spoilers from Star Wars: The Force Awakens included in this post.] Joining the masses who have made Star Wars: The Force Awakens the biggest blockbuster of all time (so far), I took my family […]
An alternative nativity
Click here for an Alternative Nativity. It is easily the most moving version I’ve seen of the biblical account. Rendered in modern images from the real plight of Syrian refugees, it comes alive for me freshly. Our Lord […]
White Christmases & other ridiculous expectations
We will have a white Christmas here at home in Bend, Oregon. It’s been dumping snow off and on for a month now and we’ve got heaps of it lining our icy roads. So, the […]
Missing Jesus on Christmas
I love the Christmas story. But there’s one part of it that haunts me. It’s the part where the magi make it to Jerusalem, not knowing where to go to finish their journey. No address or […]
The Christmas story according to my kids
On a snowy day in 2008, my kids acted out the Christmas story. I’m biased, but it’s still my favorite presentation. And you get the whole story in two and a half minutes! Click here […]
What does your sign say?
When our youngest was four, he was the only non-reading member in a household of readers. And he knew it. So, he decided that he wanted to know what all these words around him meant. When […]
11,000 miles of thanks!
If I were to run around the United States, I’d cover 11,000 miles. Not being a runner, that sounds miserable to me. But being a writer, reaching 11,000 views today was wonderful. I love writing, but I also […]
What do we do with our insecurities?
When I was in college, the city I was living in was hit by a powerful earthquake. And I was sitting on the toilet. As I sat there, I thought, “This isn’t where I want to […]
Christmas — God "for" us & "with" us
Christmas changes everything. It upends everything we think about God. And even more than that, it offers a completely different way of experiencing God. For in one event, it shows us that God is both […]
Destroying the "wall of hostility" — multiculturalism & the kingdom of God
It’s only in the past few years that Hollywood has finally become truly multicultural, with entire casts featuring lead and supporting actors who aren’t mostly white. And what’s been so great is that it hasn’t […]
Christmas lights & the beautiful life
I love Christmas lights. Any Christmas lights. There’s something to dangling white icicle lights and traditional colored bulbs, something to rope lights and net lights that warms a cold December night for me. I will always […]
Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer & the birth of Jesus
Each December, we engage with the same stories over and over again. On one hand, we’ve got the birth narrative of Jesus. On the other hand, we’ve got a collection of well-loved holiday movies Year […]
Beauty for ashes
I’d had one of those days. Bad news followed by more bad news. All of it weighing on me. But then I took a breath. A deep, lung-filling breath. All of a sudden, a new […]
The saint behind Santa Claus
When my oldest son was 4, he and two of his little buddies were sitting in a row of carseats talking about Santa Claus. “I can’t wait for Santa Claus to come,” said the first […]
Advent & the silence of Zechariah
One of the most-omitted Christmas stories is that of Zechariah and the angel in the temple (Luke 1:5-25). We all want to jump right to the birth of Jesus and focus on either Matthew 2 […]
Unemployed at Christmas
Unemployed at Christmas Joseph the carpenter Did not build his baby’s bed/// Shepherds left their field And their flock No longer shepherding But chasing the angels’ call instead/// Magi followed a star Not their career […]
Getting right what's wrong — why defining sin can be helpful
Sin is not a particularly fun topic, so I wouldn’t be surprised if most people avoid this post completely. But the ways we think about what’s wrong in our lives and the world around us […]
Liberty — our great ideal & our great idol
The Statue of Liberty stands in her solitary glory on Ellis Island, holding her torch aloft as a beckoning beacon and inviting those in need of her gift to seek it here in America. Liberty is a […]
Sorrow & joy in an age of terrorism
Evil is restless. Terrorists are amped up on a double dose of wide-eyed purpose and wild-eyed adrenaline. When you’re willing to kill in the name of an ideal and then go out with a bang, […]
The gift of thanks
It’s never too early to celebrate Thanksgiving. In fact, aside from the turkey and fixings which would quickly grow tiresome, it ought to be a daily observance. Recent studies have shown that if there is […]
Welcome to a post-Christian world (it's not as bad as it sounds)
We Westerners live in a post-Christian world. But don’t worry. It’s not what it sounds like. What it means is that Christianity as a cultural force is no longer the power it once was. What […]
The power of No — resistance is not futile
A while ago, I passed by a guy wearing a black t-shirt with the one-word sentence on it: “No.” I was tempted to ask him a question that he would have to answer with a […]
The problem with red cups & the problem with having a problem with red cups
So, people are upset about red cups at Starbucks. And other people are upset about people being upset about red cups at Starbucks. And how weird is it that my blog features a red cup […]
The problem with inventing your own God
I was heading to Orlando for a conference and had made preparations with friends there to have someone pick me up at the airport. I’d never met the picker-upper, so I sent not just my […]
The difference just a few seconds makes
Most of life is determined by just a few seconds here and there. Just a few seconds is usually the difference between success and failure, cleanliness and messiness, love and alienation. Turning the light off […]
Why are we always looking for a scapegoat?
Celebrities exist so that we can lift them up and adore them only to throw them to the ground when they fail us. We love to love them. And we love to see them fail […]
Praying the news
I’m a bit of a news junky. I come by it honestly, being the son of a news junky father. But living in this new era of being always connected to sources of information through […]
A reflection on reflection
Albedo. It’s not a common word, but it’s a common experience. It has to do with reflectability — an object’s ability to reflect light. Every night, when the earth has turned away from the sun […]
For all the saints
November 1 is All Saints Day. It’s kind of a catch-all day for all of the saints who couldn’t have name days of their own throughout the year. In one regard, it’s a cheap “and […]
Justin Bieber and what it means to believe
A few years ago, Justin Bieber came out with an album called “Believe.” (Yes, I’m writing about the Bieber. He’s made some very interesting comments about his own faith recently and has a new album […]
Toward a spirituality of eating
I love to eat, a lot. In fact, I love to eat a lot, a lot. Because of that, I find a certain tension inside of myself. I love to eat, because food is so good. […]
The Gospel According to The Martian
Every story is a take on the story of the world. Each one stands beside the actual story of the world, tweaking and critiquing it. The movie The Martian (and the book on which it […]
All of life is a gift
There are many parts of life that are easy to enjoy. They have some kind of reward built into them. Eating is generally its own reward. Hunger is satisfied. Taste buds are pleasurably engaged. Meal […]
What lies do I believe about God?
I believe a lot things about God. I have two theological degrees and a library of several thousand theological books. And yet when it comes down to the way I live, I find my theology […]
Going all in — the meaning of baptism
I had the joy of baptizing my youngest child this past Sunday. Each time I do a baptism, I feel both elated and mystified. Christians have been doing this baptism thing ever since Jesus himself […]
Plugging the holes in our spiritualities
A friend texted me recently about a deeply frustrating conversation he’d had with a client earlier in the day. His language was colorful. Workplace frustrations are a common experience of pretty much everyone who has a […]
How God's economy works
“It’s the economy, stupid!” Bill Clinton’s one-liner from his successful campaign against the first President Bush has echoed through every election since. There may be other issues on the table, but how the President will […]
Unforgiven
I love the Lord’s Prayer — except for one phrase. There’s one line in it that trips me up. It’s the second half of “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” I rely […]
Choosing the old & the relational in our disposable culture
We live in a disposable culture. Not only are things disposable, but people are disposable. Anne Hathaway is only 32 years old and an Oscar-winner, and yet she’s already being passed up for movie roles […]
Is Christianity a militant faith?
As a kid, I grew up singing “Onward, Christian soldiers” and “I’m in the Lord’s army.” There seemed to be no hesitancy in using militaristic imagery to describe our faith. This was no Cold War […]
St. Francis & the whole gospel for the whole person
One of my favorite characters from history is St. Francis. He and I share the same birthday, the same Lord, and the same desire to live missionally in all aspects of our lives. Granted, he […]
Religion is dead — and that's good!
RELIGION IS DEAD. IT JUST IS. BUT THAT’S OK. IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE. Eugene Peterson points out that religion is like a tree’s bark — it’s the dead part of the tree. But the bark is […]
Kim Davis & when faith forces you to lose your job
There’s something appealing to watching a person stick with her convictions and suffer for them. It’s the stuff of inspirational movies about inner city teachers and coaches who turn around losing teams and such. And […]
Tom Brady, cheating, and forgiveness
So, Tom Brady got away with cheating. At least, that’s how all but New England Patriots fans see things. It doesn’t matter that he didn’t need to have his personally selected footballs deflated in order […]
Among quarreling neighbors
One Sunday we came back from worship to discover that one of our neighbors had torn down the short fence between our properties and replaced it with a taller, uglier fence. There had been no warning. […]
What's wrong with the world? I am.
In an often repeated story about the eloquently witty Catholic writer G.K. Chesterton, he replied to a request to readers from The Times to answer the question, “What is wrong with the world today?” with this response: […]
What would you be willing to sacrifice your personal happiness for?
Most of us would be willing to make sacrifices to be happier. We’d live in smaller homes, have less money, have less stuff, drink less coffee, and so on if it would guarantee that we’d […]
Get over it!
If you’re an adult, you’ve had experiences where people have said and done hurtful things to you. I have. We all have. They were painful. They were inappropriate. But they’re over. Done. Gone. In the […]
Dealing with fear by living in love
I am far less rational than I like to think I am. In all kinds of small and large ways, fear keeps me from doing small things that I might like to do and large […]
Trans Jenner — discontent in a culture of self-creation
It’s amazing how quickly the culture shapers have embraced gender change. Jenner won the courage award on the ESPYS and anyone who disagreed was shamed. Siri refuses to use the name Bruce Jenner, always changing it to […]
Three essentials for leading a meaningful life
The great Scottish writer George MacDonald isolated three essentials for leading a meaningful life Someone to love. Something to do. Something to hope for. When I first came across this list, I was surprised that the first […]
Guerrilla faith — a Christian spirituality for life in a post-Christian world
Losing is tough. I hate it. When George W. Bush won the White House, Democrats talked about moving north to Canada. And when Barack Obama replaced him, Republicans made similar grumblings. When Russell Wilson of the […]
Where trust comes from
It’s a simple formula. If we want to be trusted, we’ve got to be trustworthy. But too often we expect trust without earning it. How do we learn to trust and to become worthy of trust ourselves? […]
For those of us who are grieving
As those who live in this tragic beauty called life, as those who live at the intersection of sorrow and joy, we approach death with a strange mix of emotions. As those who follow Jesus, […]
Doing, Being & Do-be-do-be-doing
What does it mean to be human? Does who we are lead to what we do? Does what we do lead to who we are? Or does Frank Sinatra have it right? It’s all mixed […]
The difference between judgment and judgmentalism
There is a Judge. And it’s not me. Neither is it you. Everyone who has suffered injustice longs for a judge who will render a just judgment, because that means liberation (from prison or slavery […]
Living in the moment & hoping for the future
We all live in an eternal now. Everything in our lives is in the present tense. The past is gone and untouchable and the future is unformed and unhatched. This moment right here is all […]
Can we "love the sinner and hate the sin" or not?
The phrase “love the sinner and hate the sin” has come under fire recently. Many question whether it’s really just a whitewashed version of hating both sinner and sin. Included in this questioning is the […]
I don't care how you feel. Just do the right thing.
As a parent, one of my jobs is getting my kids to do things they don’t want to do, because they simply need to do them. It’s a frustrating job, but we parents do it […]
Learning how to be a husband
I’m not a great husband. I’m not the worst, either. Just middling. After 21 years of life together as husband and wife, you’d think that I’d have it figured out. But it’s this same old […]
A nation divided & the wisdom of Abraham Lincoln
A few years ago, I had the chance to walk part of the Mall in Washington, D.C., and spend time in the Lincoln Memorial. Along with the huge and stunning sculpture of this gaunt giant […]
If we're all bigots, whose bigotry is worse?
Jesus said: Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do […]
How to deal with a world hostile to faith
These are tough days to be a Christian. They always have been difficult, and each generation deals with different difficulties in different ways. But the hostility nob is getting turned up and it’s easy to want to […]
Psalm 119 — Real wisdom for real life
What does the best kind of life look like? And how can we live it? If there are any questions worth pursuing, it’s these. Psalm 119 has an answer. This massive, 176-verse wisdom psalm is […]
Psalm 113 — The greatness of God is made greater in his humble generosity
Reading Psalm 113 surprised me. There seemed to be an abrupt shift from its beginning — where it talks about the magnificence of God — and its end. Here’s the psalm in its entirety: 1 […]
Things that make my heart hurt about the Charleston massacre
As the news unfolds about the young white man who entered an historic black church and killed nine people there, a number of things have passed through my head and heart, making me hurt along […]
Is my God really just my dog?
I love my dog. Ebony comes when I call her. She goes to her bed when I tell her to. She’s always excited to see me. She does tricks when I offer her a treat […]
Everybody's good at something (and I'm good at making crumble)
She’s hilariously quirky. Her song is trite. Her musicianship is weak. Her presentation is garish. But it works. All of the pieces come together in a wonderfully light-hearted way that is both self-expressive and ego-free, […]
Remembering martyrs on this Memorial Day
There is another kind of soldier that we often forget on Memorial Day: the martyr. Both the soldiers who take up arms to fight against evil and the martyr who takes up prayers to fight […]
How to read the Bible, part 4 — Live — I live a life of active response to the God who speaks.
What we’re after is a life well-lived. Not just well-thought. Not just well-talked about. Not just well-reflected on. Not just well-prayed. These are all good things and a full life includes them. But a life […]
How to read the Bible, part 3 — Pray — I speak back to the God who is speaking to me.
It’s only polite to listen to those who speak to us. It’s also impolite to remain silent when someone has just tried to engage us in a conversation. When someone speaks to me, I respond. […]
How to read the Bible, part 1 — Read — God speaks. We listen.
There are four steps to the process of Bible reading referred to as “sacred reading” or lectio divina. The first of these is lectio, which simply refers to reading. As followers of Jesus, we know that we’re […]
The world is not your oyster
When I was a young journalist of 25, the art director of the magazine I was a junior editor for expressed her fondness and optimism for me by telling me repeatedly, “The world is your […]
Be different — why the world needs you to be strange
Since moving to Bend, we’ve become friends with the Strange family. I love that last name. It must draw lots of jokes and has probably been a weight for their teenage daughter. But what fun! […]
“In the Book of Exodus, God tells Moses that his name is Yahweh, and God hasn’t had a peaceful moment since.” — Frederick Buechner
Do you know your God?
Just a couple weeks after I became a pastor, my family and I were invited over to dinner by a family in our new church. Things seemed to be going well until I was asked a […]
The importance of names
Growing up, I was always called Peter. But when I started college, a friend started calling me Pete. Then I became a pastor and people seemed to want to call me by the more formal […]
God's answer to a broken world
My wife had a great conversation with a friend who was raised without faith. In the conversation, our friend asked my wife a variation on a question that people have been asking ever since the […]
What's your question?
When I first watched the movie I (heart) Huckabee’s years ago, it bounced around in my head for days. In it, there is a team of existential detectives who hilariously examine people’s lives in order to determine what question drives […]
Why we love Darth Vader and other villains
For a culture that is getting more and more irreligious, we have an abiding and growing fascination with evil. One of my cherished memories as a kid is waiting in line for hours to see […]
Ignoring the wisdom of the past at the expense of our future
I’m not a curmudgeon. I don’t get sentimental about the supposedly good old days. I don’t gripe about kids these days. This world has always been a marvel and a mess. Kids have always been […]
Shut the f*** up! — the proper use of profanity & the need for propriety
I cuss. Probably more than I should. And far more than my kids think I do. There is a time for profanity. There is a time for exalted words that express a depth of feeling […]
Of Jesus, flowers, and same-sex weddings
The court cases are adding up. People, often Evangelical Christians, are catching flak for not being willing to provide a service to same-sex couples for their weddings. We’ve had bakers, photographers, and more recently florists who […]
Grace is an Easter egg hunt
I’m tired of people taking bad about Easter egg hunts and how they miss the point of Easter. When Jesus was born, there were some people who knew their Bibles pretty well and who could […]
It's better to be loved than to be awesome
St. Augustine began his Confessions with his most basic prayer: “May I know Thee, O Lord, and also know myself.” Dr. James Houston, founder of Regent College, calls this the double-knowledge. The two kinds of knowing […]
The Dreary Passages — finding God in the dull parts of the Bible
I love the Bible. But not all of it. I know I’m supposed to, but there are parts that I struggle with. And the parts I struggle with most are the parts that cause my […]
Life after Mom — Sufjan Stevens and how to forgive your parents
I got a phone call after midnight last night. It was my Dad. My Mom had fallen down and he needed my help getting her up. So, I quickly got dressed and walked over to […]
The gospel according to Sufjan Stevens
It’s Holy Week — the week leading up to Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter — and Sufjan Stevens has dropped a new album. He couldn’t have timed its release any better, for the album […]
It's not about Me (it's about Us)
In the original stage play of The Sound of Music there’s a song called “No Way To Stop It” that didn’t make it into the more famous movie. It’s sung by Max (the family friend […]
"I thirst" — the 4th saying of Jesus from the cross
The first words Jesus speaks in John’s gospel form one of the most penetrating questions we as humans will ever be ask: “What do you want?” (John 1:38) We all have our wants. Some are […]
Daniel, his friends & how to deal with culture
Daniel is best known for dealing with lions. He did. But just once. What he dealt with a lot was the new culture he found himself in, once he and his friends were dragged off […]