By Rev. Dr. Rick Jordan “I’m not sure how to ask this,” said my friend, “but how did you learn to pray like that? Did you have a class in seminary?” This was about an offertory prayer I’d said recently at our church. He continued, “I only ask because your prayers are deeper than most […]
Deeper and Wider Prayers Read More »
By Rev. Dr. Rick Jordan In a small group prayer meeting, I facilitated a discussion on what “in Jesus’ name” means, based on John 14:13-14, when Jesus said, “I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my
Perfunctory or Passionate? Read More »
By: Rev. Dr Paul Raybon In my recent article I pointed to the radical days of Pentecost as a model for the church to navigate uncertain times. There is another option found in Acts 5.Do you remember old Rabbi Gamaliel? Rabbi and mentor of Saul before he was Paul? He speaks out at the trial
The Gamaliel Option Read More »
By: Rev. Dr Paul Raybon We live in crazy times. Not just for each of us as individuals, but for the church. And you know the old definition of insanity? “To do the same thing you’ve always done and expect different results.” The way of doing church that was perfected in the mid-20th century does
By: Rev. Steve Zimmerman Years ago, as I was developing the partnership I also taught as an adjunct professor at the local community college. My primary class was Critical Thinking. I enjoyed my time with the students as I could see many of them for the first time discover and use critical thinking skills. One
By: Rev. Steve Zimmerman It’s finally happened! Our new luggage and airline tickets had been purchased and everything on our checklist seemed to be falling into place for the trip, until we were stopped dead in our tracks by COVID in April 2020. You see we were supposed to travel to North Africa to visit
By: Rev. Jerry Chiles One Friday evening my wife and I were going to hear the symphony and she asked if I needed to use GPS. I said no, I knew the way. As I proceeded to go to the venue, we encountered a street closure. If I had used the GPS, it would have
The Wise Still Ask For Directions Read More »
By: Rev. Jerry Chiles The excitement surrounding the solar eclipse reminds me of another celestial event from long ago. The Magi discovered a star, and using the information they had, they set out to find a new king. Where would be the logical place to look for the Jewish child king? The obvious answer is
Even the Magi Asked for Directions Read More »
By Rev. Dr. Rick Jordan We see what we want to see. At other times, we don’t see what is in plain view to others. We all have blind spots. What are yours? What are your church’s? Sometimes we need a set of fresh eyes to find out. I asked my father-in-law, who had redesigned
By Rev. Dr. Rick Jordan Recently, my wife and I spent a week with our son and daughter-in-law, Todd and Stacey, in Utah. One night, while he was grilling some steaks, Todd heard an owl call. He rushed into the house with the cooked steaks saying, “I heard an owl and I think it is
You’ve Got to See This! Read More »
