Burning One Another for God Christians have burnt each other, quite persuaded That all the Apostles would have done as they did The above is a quote from a poem by the great 19th century poet Lord Byron. It is simply to say that people can convince themselves of some very strange things, such as […]
I have been thinking lately about what it means when Jesus says in Matthew 7:1-2, “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.” I’ve always thought I was a person […]
Lately I’ve been thinking about churches: the congregations I used to be a pastor of, as well as the whole denomination I identify with. One notable thing about all churches, at all levels, is that there’s an inside and an outside. These organizations formalize the division between members and those who aren’t. Additionally, nearly all […]
Have you ever caught yourself wondering where exactly you belong? It might be a cultural question if you grew up between cultures, or a vocational question if you’re unhappy with your career. It might be a relational question if you’re looking for a friend or partner who understands you better, or a political question if none […]
I’m rather sick of love—of the word, at least. It’s been overused. Burned out. “Love” has come to mean whatever someone wants it to mean. That’s surely true in popular music, where the word appears in nearly every love song. But it’s equally true, I would argue, among Christians. I remember a church member who […]
We Adventists want to be known for our focus on health, education, and a hopeful belief in a soon Second Coming. What we don’t like to admit is how fearful we are of God. It’s not the healthy reverence found in the Psalms, the awe that inspires us to strive for holiness. This fear is […]
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the tension between idealism and “the way things are.” I’m a naturally sincere and optimistic person. I want to improve the world around me, and when I touch the lives of those around me I want that to be a net positive. I often make the mistake of […]
A friend told me this week of his sadness about one of his friends—in particular, the picture of God she seems to have. She pictures God, he says, as an angry, easy-to-displease Being—someone who is supposed to love her, but she’s not at all sure God does. She worries about God’s opinion of her. She […]
6 January 2024 | Happy New Year, Everyone! Your incredible generosity during our recent year-end fundraiser has left us humbled and filled with a renewed sense of purpose. You matched every dollar of the $48,000 matching challenge generously issued by the Adventist Today board and helped us surpass our $100,000 goal for the fundraiser. These numbers, while […]
I’ve always been drawn to the concept of liminal spaces. Liminal—meaning a threshold or a portal, or some type of space in-between—can represent transition. It can be a difficult space of ambiguity where you are neither here nor there. But it can also be a place of reflection of where you just came from, and […]
I understand why ancient societies in the Northern Hemisphere celebrated the winter solstice. When life and livelihood depended on the sun, noting when daylight began to incrementally conquer darkness was something to be celebrated. Sure, the ancients knew they still had to endure months of cold and darkness before they could shed their heavy clothes and the […]
It’s the most neglected of parables—perhaps because we Adventists don’t like the questions it raises. I’m referring to Jesus’ saying, “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins” (Mark […]