“Joyful, joyful, Lord we adore Thee. . .” This poem written by Henry van Dyke perfectly encapsulates the act of corporate worship. While worship can be a serious, somber, reverent experience, it can also be a joyful one. All too often in our churches we focus on the former and restrict the latter. But I […]
Good Grief
My grandfather recently died and I now find myself wanting to blog about death and grief. Those of you who have been following my blogs for a while may recall that I have previously written about lamentations and joyful grief. This week I will be talking about some of the most beautiful and encouraging aspects […]
The Power of Meandering
“The first sentence of every novel should be: ‘Trust me, this will take time but there is order here, very faint, very human.’ Meander if you want to get to town.” – Michael Ondaatje. This well-known quote from Ondaatje’s novel In the Skin of a Lion speaks not only to the style of writing that […]
The Purpose of Parody
Listening to songs by Weird Al Yankovic has got me thinking about parody songs, their nature and their purpose. For those unfamiliar with Weird Al or with parody songs generally, strap yourselves in and we’ll go for a spin. The world of parody is part humour and part serious. Typically, parodies aim to make comment […]
Worship as a Window
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the nature of authentic worship. It is a mark of courage when one embraces the worship of God as He truly is. Such worship will inevitably bring us toward an encounter with our own true selves. It is an adventure not for the faint-hearted. Worship can act as […]
The indignity of worship
Worship in contemporary church has become something pretty and dignified. But worship is not meant to be a face-saving exercise. Nor is it designed to inflate our sense of self-importance. We cannot be worshipping Jesus and at the same time thinking about how good we look. Worship is not about ego or reputation. Worship can […]
Risky Business
I have worship on my mind this morning. I’ve been pondering the nature of worship and worship leading in the context of a congregational service. Here are a few of my thoughts. Worship is confusing – and yet so simple at its core. Worship at times can feel very private and personal, and yet we […]
Fat chance
I read with horrified gasps Joy Beth Smith’s article, “Fat. Single. Christian. In Church, being overweight and dating feels like a sin.” Not being overweight myself, I was oblivious to the unique issues faced by Christian overweight singles attempting to date. I would like to take the opportunity of this weeks’ blog to highlight some […]
Singles liberation movement
I recently reviewed a wonderful article, “A liberation theology for single people,” by Christena Cleveland. It was refreshing to read such an encouraging blog by a single pastor and professor and I thought it was worth sharing some of my thoughts. Christena started by sharing a story of a distraught student whose worst nightmare was […]
More than a Single Reason
Charlie Grantham’s article “Three reasons singleness should be praised” describes some interesting advantages to the single life. The reasons expounded by Charlie deal with singleness being a calling, a gift, and a provider of unique opportunities. These and other points touched on in Charlie’s article are worth a response. Charlie suggests that marriage has become […]