Seven times he said, “Go, look again!” (1 Kings 18: 41-46) Two weeks ago we celebrated Pentecost. Within the next week the school year ended and life has taken on a whole new energy. What do we do with all…
How Do You Measure Disciple-Making?
How do I know if my local church is making disciples? Whether you’re a person in the pew, volunteer leader, minister, staff, pastor, or parish council member–you should care. Your local church has the unique mission to foster initial and ongoing…
Trinity Sunday: Is it Relevant?
Readings for June 15, 2015: Trinity Sunday Many are ready to give a polite nod of some sort to Jesus of Nazareth. Most honor him as a great moral teacher. Many even confess him as Savior. But the Incarnation of…
This is My Body
We value very greatly our God-given rights. Some of these were enumerated beautifully in the U.S. Declaration of Independence. We value life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Jesus was – is – truly man, as well as truly God,…
Scapegoating the Body
I recently completed what I think is my 10th year of catechizing 6th-graders in Wednesday Night Sunday School. I love teaching, but I like to also sit down and have someone else be the teacher, especially if they really have…
Lessons of the Sower, Part 3: The Thorns
In our last two articles we reflected on the nature of distraction and how Satan uses that to keep us from letting Christ into our lives, and how a merely emotional connection to faith will cause that faith to die….
Humility and Blogging
“Oh Lord it’s hard to be humble.” A catchy tune and song popularized by Mac Davis could be an anthem for us bloggers today. Recently there was a bit of a mini-explosion over what one of my fellow bloggers posted…
Evangelical Catholicism: It’s Our Mission
This is the last installment of the ten traits of Evangelical Catholic from George Weigel’s book, Evangelical Catholicism. Previous posts here, here, here, and here. Trait nine reminds us that it is necessary to know and understand biblical language and images. The language of…
The Spirit Makes All the Difference
Readings for June 8, 2014: Pentecost Sunday As a teen, I thought the clergy were supposed to do everything. We laity were just called to pray, pay, and obey. Oh yes, and keep the commandments, of course. The original…
The Discipleship Riddle
I love today’s Gospel reading, likely because I have always enjoyed a good riddle. In verbal play, the surface meaning is generally not the only intended meaning. This double meaning is what makes the joke funny. It also provides further…