Thanks to Rev. Johnny Agurkis for inviting me to preach yesterday at Cape Cod Covenant Church. Given some recent conversations in our denomination and the fact that it was the Sunday before Independence Day, the topic was an easy choice. I’m checking off a lot of firsts during my month-long visit to the East Coast. … More Freedom in Christ (Galatians 5)
Here… • I couldn’t spend four weeks at Yale without writing about its World War I memorials… • …which are right next to the auditorium where Charles Lindbergh made his first public address against U.S. participation in World War II. • In other news, I preached a sermon about sibling conflict, grace, and Christian unity. … More That Was The Week That Was
“We are not here to-day to mourn their deaths. Nothing would so shock the devoted and exultant spirit of their service.” So said former Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson in November 1920, as Yale University dedicated tablets in Memorial Hall with the names of 227 Yalies who had fallen in the recent World War. “We … More The Birth of America First
The college football stadium that served as my home state’s WWI memorial was demolished in 1992, but you can still find World War I memorials at many colleges and universities in this country. I doubt any American institution of higher learning did more to commemorate WWI than my graduate alma mater: Yale University. Students at Yale had … More How One University Remembers World War I
Thanks to Pastor Doug Bixby, for effectively switching places with me yesterday: while he was back in my hometown participating in the annual meeting of the Covenant Church, I had the chance to preach and teach at the church he serves in Attleboro, Massachusetts. (And thanks to their associate pastor, Chris Wall, for being such … More Stories of Hope: Joseph… and Judah
I’m getting ready for a weekend in Boston, but a few links before I hit the road: Here… • It’s not every day you get the chance to preach at the most-photographed church in New England. • It was a Congregational church, but the rest of the week we focused on my own denomination, as … More That Was The Week That Was
Dear members and friends of the Covenant Church, Tomorrow our denomination will begin its 2018 annual meeting — one that many expect to be a landmark event, as delegates vote on new leaders amid intensifying debate about the ECC’s position on human sexuality and marriage. Part of me wishes that I were on the floor … More My (Love) Letter to the Covenant Church
Tonight’s guest-blogger is Mark Safstrom, chief editor of the devotional journal Pietisten and assistant professor of Scandinavian Studies at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. More importantly, Mark is both a friend and a Mission Friend: that is, a fellow member of the Evangelical Covenant Church. What follows is adapted from his piece in next month’s issue … More Humble Leadership and Gentle Persuasion: A Plea to the People of the Covenant Church (Mark Safstrom)
Thanks to Brad Bergfalk, pastor of First Congregational Church in Litchfield, Connecticut, for inviting me to preach yesterday. It’s always a pleasure to preach in other churches, but especially in one as historic as FCC Litchfield. That congregation was organized in 1721, and the current building dates to 1829. My favorite radio station is called … More A New Song (Psalm 96)
Here… • I wrestled with how and why Christians should pray for a political leader like Donald Trump. • My travels out east took me through Bethlehem, Pennsylvania — home of one of the most significant Moravian communities in history. • And if you’re interested in seeing other historic sites on your travels this summer, … More That Was The Week That Was
The Pietist Schoolman 