Dear Partner in Preaching, I am writing from a family cottage on the shores of Otsego Lake, in Cooperstown, NY, a place my family has come for more than a century. In this setting, and after a night’s sleep to the sound of gently lapping waves and anticipating a day of fun on the water with my kids, I’m inclined to write, as I did three years ago, on the importance of rest, of Sabbath, and of the role of the church to provide and encourage restorative rest. And, indeed, I am most grateful for this time of rest and recreation. Yet – perhaps precisely because I’ve had a few days rest after a pretty intense year – I will instead write...

Dear Partner in Preaching, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Game of Thrones has nothing on the Bible. I’m in the middle of catching up on season five of Game of Thrones, and it occurred to me that while the political intrigue, devious plotting, and unexpected (and sometimes quite expected) backstabbing and reversal of fortunes are what has made this series such a hit, there is all of that and more in Mark’s rather long (at least for his standards) account of the death of John the Baptist. Close reader’s of Mark’s story have noticed several things about this scene over the years that make it stand out: it’s one of the...

Dear Partner in Preaching, Anyone interested in talking about prejudice and racism this Sunday? What about gay marriage? My guess is that a few – probably a very few – of us can’t wait to talk about just these things because they are passions of ours. My other guess is that most of us would rather not. And that we’ve got lots of very good reasons not to. These issues are too controversial, too painful, too divisive. And, perhaps above and beyond these reasons, we know that people don’t come to church to talk about these things. But here’s the thing: People are talking about them. With friends, with family members, with...

Dear Partner in Preaching, Do you remember what they called Harry Potter early on in the stories that bear his name? Folks called him “the boy who lived.” He wasn’t supposed to, you see. He had been struck by a killing curse from the dark wizard Voldemort and should have died, but he didn’t – he lived. And so that became his name. Names – especially nicknames that are given by others to describe something about us – can be pretty hard to shake. Whether they are accurate or not, whether we like them or not, whether they are flattering or not, the descriptors hung on us have significant power. Why? Because in naming one reality...

When Sermon Brainwave came out a half dozen or so years ago, people would always ask where the name came from. And I’d offer the rather goofy answer that I spent a lot of time reading the Harry Potter books to my kids and one of my favorite British phrases (along with “trainers” for “sneakers”) was “brainwave,” meaning a seriously good idea. And so when I first thought about doing a weekly podcast on the lectionary texts, I thought Sermon Brainwave would capture my hope to offer a few good ideas (or at least mildly entertaining notions) about the lectionary readings for the coming week. That is, you wouldn’t be getting...

Dear Partner in Preaching, A question: Do you think the disciples were more frightened before the stilling of the storm or after? I realize the answer may seem obvious. After all, not only does Mark describe the “weather event” the disciples are experiencing out on the See of Galilee as “a great windstorm,” but he also tells us that the boat is so swamped with water that the disciples are frightened for their very lives. And yet consider: after Jesus stills the seas and wind with his voice, after the disciples recognize that even the elements of nature obey their teacher, and after all that was once terrifying has been banished, the...