Voices

Comic Books, False Assumptions, and the Church

Seeing One Another

New Mexico, July 2001. We were there on a mission trip; it was my last before I headed off to college in..

“You come from a long line of brave, fearless women…”

We were sitting in our bathing suits and shorts in the ice cream shop waiting out a storm.  There was thunder and..

#3

  One of the most exhilarating things in my pastoral life is when I sense that God is calling me to play..

Glowing Good News

“Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15).  Jesus’ appeal for us to share..

Dreams or Death

There is a rather large poster that sits in my office directly across from my desk.  It reads: “Once An Organization Has..

Check your pulse

When you live or work in a college town, you can actually feel the pulse of the university. It’s faster in the..

My (Giant Turtle) Prayer

The day before I left on our summer youth mission trip, I lay in the middle of my friend’s pool, alone on..

Prayer When There Are No Words

I've been reading Ruth Haley Barton's book on spiritual disciplines called Sacred Rhythms: Arranging our Lives for Spiritual Formation. I've been drawn to..

Discerning the ‘spirits’?

One of the more difficult gifts of the Spirit to understand is found in 1 Corinthians 12:10, where Paul mentions “discernment of..

Communal living: knowing and being known

As I am considering community housing with our sister church and I have been asked to reflect on questions that have been..

The Secret Knowledge of Princeton Seminary Class of 2006

There are some things every Presbyterian seminarian knows, like how to toss around words like context, paradigm, kataphatic, and differentiated, how to..

Just What We Need—More Advice

Does anyone ever tire of giving advice to new parents?                Be sure to swaddle the baby whenever you lay her..

Idolitics: Why I reject the entire conversation (part 4 in a 4 part blog series)

Editor's note:  This is the third of four in a blog series by Jonathan Saur. Each day this week, he will offer a..

Idolitics: Why I am not a progressive… or a liberal… or whatever they call themselves these days… (part 3 in a 4 part blog series)

  Editor's note:  This is the third of four in a blog series by Jonathan Saur. Each day this week, he will offer..

Idolitics: Why I am not a conservative (part 2 in a 4 part blog series)

  Editor's note:  This is the second of four in a blog series by Jonathan Saur. Each day this week, he will offer..

Idolitics: Introduction (part 1 in a 4 part blog series)

Editor's note:  This is the first of four in a blog series by Jonathan Saur. Each day this week, he will offer a..

Impractical Passion

Last weekend on NPR’s “Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me,” host Peter Sagal was interviewing the author of Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier.  Sagal remarked..

Would you want to watch this with Jesus?

The other night we were having dinner with some friends when one of them revealed that he went to a private Christian..

Questioning God

We've all been there. Maybe it was a painful trial, a devastating tragedy, a long-lasting struggle, or just human doubt, but for..

The Magnificence of Middle Schoolers

When I tell people I’m off on a trip with middle schoolers, the usual reaction is this: snarled faces, grunts, raised eyebrows,..

Reaching Millennials by way of the cross

I recently read Rachel Held Evan's CNN blog post on "Why Millennials Are Leaving the Church." Her basic assessment is that the..

Membership and Metrics in Ministry

  What do local microbrew beer and young adult ministry have to do with one another? Everything.  About a year ago, I..

What makes a space sacred?

As I listen to the sound of hammers thudding and drills whirling beneath my office, I find myself thinking about what makes..