I enjoy the work of the Piano Guys. Yes, I know, they can be a tad dramatic, but of course that’s part of the fun. I’ve shared several of their pieces in years past and thought this adaptation of Vivaldi’s “Winter” – first done by Disney for the song “Let it Go” for their hit movie Frozen – provided a nice break from whatever you might be doing. And, in case you’re wondering, it’s real snow and ice that surrounds them! Note: If you are receiving this post by email, you may need to click on the title at the top of the post to watch the...

Advent 3B: John 1:6-8, 19-28 Dear Partner in Preaching, A few years ago, while speaking with some pastors in Canada about ministry in an increasingly post-Christian world, a young pastor shared a story that has stayed with me. A year or so earlier, his mother had asked him why he was the only one of her children who still went to church. In response, he asked her what she would tell her children – his siblings – if they asked her why she went to church. Why, in short, was her faith important to her? He reported that what followed was the most uncomfortable twenty minutes of conversation he’d ever had with his mother. Because, like many...

Can we talk about Ferguson? And now Staten Island? I won’t be surprised if you’re not sure you want to keep reading. It’s hard stuff – unpleasant and, perhaps more to the point, divisive. I myself have friends on all sides of the spectrum of attitudes about the grand jury decisions, about the protests that followed, and about the state of race relations in our country. Which is why so many of us would be just as happy to avoid talking about this in general and most certainly at church. But there’s more than one way to talk about an issue, and I’d like to invite us to think about another tact. Might we, for instance, talk with...

One more note on the TED Talk from yesterday about Nancy Frates’ story about the ALS Ice-Bucket Challenge. A few weeks ago I defined leadership as using the gifts God has given you to bring out the gifts of others in order to accomplish great things in and for the world God loves so much. And I stand by that. 🙂 But as I listened to Nancy Frates, I was also struck by the determination of her son to seize the opportunity in his ALS to make a difference. We don’t often think of tragedy as presenting opportunity of course, but Pete Frates did. In fact, he refused not to see an opportunity. And I think that’s part of being...