One of the difficult things any organization faces is the loss of institutional memory. As people come and go the reasons for decisions may be lost. An organization’s culture may change as new folk come in after a period in which that organization’s values were clearly explained and then enacted. Sometimes a change in leadership…

We recently looked at the two sacraments God has given to his church. These are visible signs of what God is doing invisibly in the life of his church. My friend Josh recently said a sacrament puts “sensory handles on unseen realities”. Through baptism and communion we can see and feel what God is doing…

There is an old joke that probably applies to many Christian traditions but I heard it of Baptists: Q. How many Baptists does it take to change a light bulb? A. Change?! The truth is change has always been part of the Christian faith, for our faith is enculturated. It has long adopted the cultural…

By now you’ve heard about the Opening Ceremony of the 2024 Olympics in Paris. The outcry has been over the decision to have a group of LGBT+ folk seated at a table, with the person seated at the center having a halo. Further, the Greek god Dionysus (called Bacchus by the Romans), the god of…

There are strong opinions about preaching. I know guys who insist on a particular method of preaching—this usually means preaching extemporaneously, off the cuff and without a manuscript. I recently saw a post on social media insisting that one who is preaching must not use a manuscript, for if he uses a manuscript he might…