Dear Partner in Preaching, Have you ever heard the sound of a heart breaking? Do you remember what it sounds like? Maybe it was your son or daughter’s heart breaking when they graduated from high school or college only to find the job market had disappeared. Or maybe it was your sister’s heart breaking when the doctor called to say the cancer was back. Or maybe it was your friend’s heart breaking when he called to say that his marriage was over. Have you ever heard the sound of a heart breaking? Do you remember what it sounds like? I think we hear that sound again in today’s gospel reading. It might be hard to detect at first, but if...

Judging by your comments (16) and emails (about double that amount) to the short piece I wrote on vocation last week, I’d say that we all, at the very least, want to feel called. And so I wanted to continue sharing some thoughts on vocation as well as continue inviting your conversation (especially in the comments so all can hear what you’re thinking). In this post, then, three observations I have about vocation in relation to the comments, emails, and dozens of conversations I’ve been privileged to have with folks over the years about their sense of calling. 1) No matter how hard we try, we still often tend to think of “calling”...

What’s the last great book you read? You know what I mean, the kind of book that you wanted to take with you on vacation to read while at the beach or lake. Or maybe it’s the book you just couldn’t put down after work, or stayed up at night to finish, or wanted to share with a friend. That’s an awesome experience, isn’t it? When you just lose yourself in a book and the story stays with you way after you’ve finished the last page and closed the cover. Book designer Adam Greene wants people to have that kind of experience with the Bible. Because, let’s face it, most of us don’t. But while many of us assume the problem is either...

Dear Partner in Preaching, I don’t know about you, but I think that, more often than not, I’m with the crowds. You know, the people who say Jesus is like John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. Oh, that’s not what I confess, of course. When it comes time to answer the question in public, I’m quick to join myself to Peter’s insight, claiming it as my own, or at least assenting to it. And each time to I do, I swear I mean it. But if actions speak louder than words – and you and I both know they do – then I have to admit that most of my actions don’t confess that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living...