Dear Partner in Preaching, I suspect there are days when you wonder if what you do makes much of a difference. Days when you worry about attendance, struggle to find a Sunday School teacher, look ahead to the prospect of an uninspiring committee meeting, or wonder if any of the kids in confirmation even want to be there. Days that drain the body, wear on the spirit, and cause you to question, not so much your vocation in general, but the usefulness of it in particular. And then comes a passage like this one. A passage on an exorcism, of all things, using words like “rebuke” and “unclean spirit,” and you fear that if your people ever...

Dear Partner in Preaching, I’ve always found this passage both inspiring and vexing. I find it inspiring because of the decisiveness and immediacy of the response of the four disciples mentioned in today’s reading. But I also find it a tad vexing because it seems to set the bar so high. Leave everything…to follow an itinerant preacher into an unknown future…immediately. To be honest, I find it hard to imagine doing as these four did, and I wonder if our folks might feel the same. And that might not be a bad place to start: asking our folks if they can imagine picking up and leaving everything to follow Jesus. If you do that, make...

I am, as you likely know, something of a podcast addict. Given that I am often in the car two to two-and-a-half hours a day, that probably makes sense. Beyond that, this is a great time to be commuting, if you like podcasts at least, because we are entering some of a new “golden age” in the world of radio and podcasts, given the plethora of shows available. This morning, as I was catching up on a favorite – This American Life – I was introduced to a new podcast, Invisibilia, which is Latin for “all the invisible things” and is, in the “about” post on the podcast’s website, “explores the intangible forces that shape human...

I’d invite you to exercise care if you decide to watch this powerful three-minute TED Talk by Stacey Kramer. Don’t worry, it’s not graphic, or manipulative, or violent. Not at all. But it is very, very challenging and you may not agree with Stacey’s conclusion and conviction. And that’s all right. But it’s something to be prepared for. Indeed, I suspect that if you or a loved one has experienced what Stacey has experienced, you will likely react powerfully to her Talk, whether positively or negatively. Keep in mind, this is one person’s experience. And it is valid. And if you disagree, or have had a different experience,...