Monthly Archives: March 2008
It has begun. Holy Week, you see, never seems very holy to me. At least not holy in the “sit quietly and contemplate the presence of God” kind of holy. What I mean is, while I usually do exclaim “Oh Holy God!” a lot this week of the year, it is (I’m sorry to say) usually not in the context of thoughtful worship. There’s just too much going on this week. Services… Read More
My colleague Paul has been on my case more than usual lately because I’ve fallen down on the job of keeping everyone up to date on the progress of our new house. In my defense, we just moved in three weeks ago, and when I say “moved in” I mean that we now sleep here. There are many, many boxes still to be unpacked. In the middle of all the chaos, however,… Read More
Today I took a Sunday off to travel to Richmond with my family to hear Jim Somerville preach his candidacy sermon and accept the pastorate of First Baptist Richmond. The congregation of First Baptist Church of Richmond voted Jim in unanimously. What a wonderful opportunity for Jim, Christy and family. How sad for our city to be losing such an amazing pastoral presence. It’s a happy sad day.
I love it when the perfect sermon illustration comes along just at the right time. I love it when that happens. However, that most certainly did not happen the third week of Lent, when I struggled and struggled to find a way to engage the congregation and the text in a way that had some sort of meaning. Part of the problem, of course, was, honestly, the passage. Jesus and the Samaritan woman… Read More
Talk with the Preacher 