God told me to go to L.A. Sounds a little strange, I know – I’m not usually one of those “God-told-me-to-do-this” guys. (Maybe I should be?) But when I read on Facebook of the death of the wife of one of my closest friends, I was both stunned and ashamed. Joe and I had been […]
The Dresden Frauenkirche – a Lutheran cathedral – was built in the early 1700’s and stood for over 200 years as a place of worship and the spiritual center of the city of Dresden. In 1945, as a result of the bombing of Dresden, the church collapsed into a pile of rubble. Immediately after the […]
When my father’s brain tumor was pronounced inoperable, and we knew that his death was approaching, most of the people in our family reacted predictably. Some were angry; others were in denial; many wept. There was one big exception: me. My emotional response shocked my brothers and sisters, and even surprised me. It was joy. I consider myself a […]
Lately, I’ve been pretty discouraged about my work. Not about my chances of remaining employed, or making enough money to live on, but more about the effect of my work. Perhaps I should explain that I’ve always taken a missional view of work. When I was 18 I sensed a call to ministry, and in […]
My Friday morning coffee-and-prayer partner greeted me this morning with a question: “Have you figured out why God is treating you like Job?” – referring to the biblical character whose level of suffering reached legendary proportions. He asked me that question because in recent weeks I’d been whining to him about how tough things are at […]
I’ll never forget the first time I heard a recording of my singing voice. I was stunned. How could something that sounded so pure, so golden, so lovely in my own head sound like nothing more than a dull roar when put on tape? This happened when I was about 14 years old, a high […]