By Jeff Brumley Broaching the subject of death can be a serious downer in a society obsessed with beauty, health and long life. But there are signs that may be starting to change. “There are more people who are talking…
Sometimes it’s just a matter of showing up
By Jayne Davis It was really such a simple plan. The group would meet at my house at 4:30 for coffee and dessert and then head off together to the nursing home at 6 to sing Christmas carols for residents…
A Spiritual Path to Gratitude
Brother David Steindl-Rast has contended in his writings that gratitude is foundational to a healthy spiritual life. If that is true, and I believe it is, then how might we expand our capacity for gratitude? Perhaps some reflections drawn from…
Conversion crisis?
By Bill Leonard Of his 1821 conversion, evangelist Charles Finney wrote: “As I went in and shut the door after me, it seemed as if I met the Lord Jesus Christ face to face. … No words can express the…
Saints, in fact, don’t do it
By Jeff Harris I’m Baptist, so when All Saints’ Day rolls around on Nov. 1 my first response is, “Huh?” All Saints’ Day was not observed in the church of my birth, but we had saints in that church. They…
Here’s to a better tomorrow
By Barrett Owen “Be strong and bold … for it is God who goes ahead of you.” — Moses to Joshua in Deuteronomy 31:6 I love Moses’ phrase, “God is gone ahead of you.” Rob Bell talks about it in…
Everyone needs to go to Arabia
By Bill Wilson One of the pressing concerns of 21st-century individual and congregational spiritual life is the question of depth. To be blunt, there isn’t much. Study after study has revealed the sad truth that much of what we call…
Dreaming with God
By Bill Wilson I’ve made a transition in recent years in the way I think and talk about God’s will. For many people, the will of God is a mysterious, elusive and frustrating concept. Too often, we have made it…
‘He Tells Me I Am His Own?’ Maybe …
By Bill Leonard In his 1736 treatise, A Faithful Narrative of the Surprising Work of God, Jonathan Edwards described conversion as “a great and glorious work of God’s power, at once changing the heart of infusing life into the dead…