There is a simplicity to Laurel Blossom’s “Red Balloon Rising” that I find strangely evocative. Perhaps it’s that we celebrated my daughter’s birthday this past week. When she was much younger part of our birthday preparations would be driving together to the...
34. Mark 15:29-32
posted by DJL
Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!” In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes, were also mocking him among themselves and saying,...
I Don’t Know, Pt. 3
posted by DJL
This is the third post on reclaiming the power of saying “I don’t know.” In the first I suggested that when we can’t admit when we don’t know the answer, but always have to come up with one, we’re far more likely to give inaccurate information and, perhaps worse, fail to seize opportunities for learning. In the second post I suggested that we might encourage each other to admit when we have things to learn by considering the possibility that intelligence isn’t simply a measure of the stuff you know but of the stuff you know you don’t know, and therefore are eager to learn. Today I want to offer one more thing: that reclaiming...
33. 15:25-27
posted by DJL
It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. The inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” And with him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left. In case you were wondering why Jesus died, or how this teacher, preacher, and...
From Performative to Participatory Preaching
posted by DJL
ChurchNext is the website and ministry of Chris Yaw, who spent the first part of his professional life as an interviewer and broadcaster in radio and television. Now an Episcopal priest, Chris uses those same skills to interview leaders, change agents, and skilled practitioners and harvest what they know to make it available to all leaders in the church, lay and ordained. A few weeks ago Chris interviewed me – I’m not sure which of those above categories I fit into 🙂 – and he’s just posted the fruits of the conversation we had via Skype on his site. My topic: moving from performative preaching toward more participatory...
32. Mark 15:23-24
posted by DJL
And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it. And they crucified him, and divided his clothes among them, casting lots to decide what each should take. There is a chilling brevity to Mark’s description of Jesus’ crucifixion. Four words in English, “and they...
Making Room for Doubt
posted by DJL
Last week I talked about making room for regret, staving off the cultural impulse to “have no regrets” so that we might recognize and confess that we make mistakes, can learn from them, and be reminded of our aspirations and unrealized possibilities and potential through them. This week I want to invite us to make room for doubt. As I am reading the accounts of the resurrection in preparation for Easter I’ve been struck, once again, by the fact that none of the disciples – those who travelled with Jesus, knew him best, and heard his predictions and promises – greeted the resurrected Jesus with the words, “I knew it!” or...
31. Mark 15:22
posted by DJL
Then they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull). We don’t know much about Golgotha with any certainty. It’s referenced in all four gospels, presumed to be a hill just outside the city gates, probably close enough to a major road that passers-by could...
Mommy Wars
posted by DJL
I read a blog post by Libby Anne recently that caught my attention and I wanted to share it with you. It’s about the “mommy wars.” You may have heard the term. It describes the plight of mothers today who, in contrast to many women of previous generations, must choose between staying at...
30. Mark 15:21
posted by DJL
They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus. Christian tradition reports that Simon of Cyrene, the passer-by pressed into service by the Romans to carry Jesus’ cross, later became a Christian....
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