“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. For he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” - Matthew 5:43-45Love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you. That is a radical ...  Read More

If we expect to be ONE in Church, there must be uncommon and unnatural intentional behavior.  Common vision, purpose and goals (certainly we are called to this) requires uncommon and unnatural teachability, eagerness for harmony, admiration of other’s, humilty and meekness.Teachability - “Never be wise in your own sight.” Rom 12:16Eagerness for Harmony – “Live in harmony with one another” Rom 12:1...  Read More

If you’re like me, you probably thought that becoming a Christian would open up the windows of understanding the inscrutable. Evidently, not so! While our God marvelously reveals himself to us, shows us things we never understood before, exposes wonderful truth, he does not give us everything we want to know. This, for some, is disappointing… And understandably so, because we tend to think that th...  Read More

“Tradition is the living faith of the dead, traditionalism is the dead faith of the living…” Jaroslav Pelikan Depending on your faith background or friend group, you may or may not have remembered that this past Wednesday was Ash Wednesday and marked the beginning of the season of Lent. (if you did, don’t feel bad, I didn’t remember until Wednesday night). The truth is, as American Evangelicals, w...  Read More

Coronavirus... winter...school schedules that change weekly...flu...quarantine...masks...no large parties...restricted travel...hearing your kids longing for (gasp) school!With Groundhog Day fast approaching, I’m not even sure Punxsutawney Phil will emerge from his hole! I think he’s in counseling (virtually, and double masked).I’m noticing as I’m sure you have, this subtle slide in regards to a l...  Read More

Since I’ve arrived at Beacon, I’ve found myself in a number of conversations with Pastor Josh about culture and history, learning quite a number of things on the topic in each conversation. This past week, in discussing the inauguration and transition of power, I mentioned how much I appreciated Washington’s farewell address, and he informed me that the speech is read aloud each year in the senate...  Read More