A Pastor in The Northwest

In reflecting on John 15, I have pondered much on this idea of abiding in Christ.  The word often means 'accepting a decision or verdict' in our modern culture but, in John's usage, it has to do with close connection.  Walking with Jesus changes us.  To abide with Him is to literally be with Him, hang out with Him, talk to Him, learn His ways, etc.  In fact, the only way our lives produce fruit like love, joy, peace & patience (see Galatians 5) is through being attached & connected to Jesus. I'm saying this prayer today in this pursuit of abiding:  Lord God, we rejoice in your resurrection and in your promise to return. Help us live today as -people who await the fulfillment of your kingdom. Bend our knees to the hard work of prayer, worship, repentance, and intercession. Amen. Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash   

On this day 30 years ago, I married Jackie Harris. By the grace of God, we are still in love and going strong and I count it a great blessing and one of the best decisions I have and will ever make. Now, that's #blessed y'all! Photo by Johannes W on Unsplash

A Leader's Prayer... As I was spending some time in prayer and Scripture, I resonated this morning with Moses' charge to the people of ancient Israel. In many ways, it is a commission and encouragement and a leader's prayer if you will. His words in Deuteronomy 4:5-8 from the New English Translation: 5 Look! I have taught you statutes and ordinances just as the Lord my God told me to do so that you might carry them out in the land you are about to enter and possess. 6 So be sure to do them, because this will testify of your wise understanding to the people who will learn of all these statutes and say, “Indeed, this great nation is a very wise people.” 7 In fact, what other great nation has a god so near to them like the Lord our God whenever we call on him? 8 And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just as this whole law that I am about to share with you today? Wisdom, discernment, diligence, and the nearness of God. The people of faith are to be known fo

In honor of the upcoming St. Patrick's Day, here's a post I originally wrote back in 2006 - thought I'd share it to kick off this new blog... I’ve always wondered why some in the Christian church are so enamored with Celtic stuff. I mean, the Celtic crosses, the artwork, the old stone church buildings, the ‘mystery’, what’s this all about anyway? I then read a short little book about Celtic Christianity called Listening for the heartbeat of God – A Celtic Christianity  by J. Philip Newell and I really connected with this whole Celtic thing for the first time.  I guess what really resonates with me is this idea that God is the heart of all creation, and, since He is, when you really dig deep in every human heart, despite human sin and evil, you will ultimately find the good placed there by God. This is counter to the notion which has its roots in the early Christian church father Augustine who taught that humanity is basically evil and unable to do anything good without God.