This week I wrote devotionals about everything from celebration to suffering, plus a Graham Greene novel, and I invited four Anxious Bench colleagues to share their experience of teaching under COVID. Elsewhere: • While undergraduate enrollments have declined less than expected, the pandemic does seem to be depopulating another kind of educational institution: public schools. • Conservative … More That Was The Week That Was
Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and people came and said to [Jesus], “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they? As long as they have the … More The With-God Life: The Spiritual Discipline of Celebration
Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, and they saw the God of Israel. Under his feet there was something like a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. God did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; also they … More The With-God Life: The Image of God
As he comes to the end of his first letter, the Apostle Peter pastors the pastors. Having been charged by Jesus himself to “feed my lambs” and “tend my sheep” (John 21:15-17), Peter exhorts “the elders among you to tend the flock of God that is in your charge…” (1 Pet 5:1-2). To establish his … More The With-God Life: Suffering and Unity
A couple of rules I live my life by: Use the lectionary as an opportunity to read scriptures that are easy to skip over. Don’t embarrass myself or anyone else by writing about sex. Normally, these two don’t come into conflict. But I’m writing a daily series of devotions, and today’s readings include some verses … More The With-God Life: Song of Songs
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through … More The With-God Life: Ambassadors
As I’ve restarted this series of daily devotionals, I find myself drawn more to the Old Testament selections from the lectionary than the gospel and epistle texts. Maybe that’s because I’m in the middle of reading Separated Siblings: An Evangelical Understanding of Jews and Judaism, by former North Park Seminary president Jay Phelan. Growing out … More The With-God Life: Commandments
At the end of the 6th century AD, Pope Gregory the Great launched one of the most significant missions in Christian history. “Do not let the toil of the journey or the tongues of men, discourage you,” he told the apprehensive monks tasked with converting the Anglo-Saxon people of England, “but with all earnestness and … More The With-God Life: Idols
This week I started a new series of devotional reflections on the daily lectionary and considered how evangelicals might react to President Trump’s reportedly dim view of military service. Elsewhere: • Ron Sider, Rich Mouw, John Perkins, Brenda Salter McNeil, Joel Hunter, and Richard Foster were just some of the pro-life Christians who this week endorsed … More That Was The Week That Was
On Thursday I forgot to go outside and catch a glimpse of this month’s first (of two) full moons. But looking at some stunning lunar images that night on Facebook made me think of Kendrick Oliver’s religious history of the race for the Moon, To Touch the Face of God. It’s named for the last … More The With-God Life: The Voice of Silence
The Pietist Schoolman 