Listening is rudimentary to being a good human; it’s one of the most fundamental forms of respect. Further, it’s a basic signifier of our humility. And our wisdom: Proverbs tells us it’s only the fool that utters all his mind[1] and “He that answers a matter before listening it is a folly and shame to him.”[2] The fundamental loss of … Read More
Responding to Culture Shifts
One of the many things I’m grateful to my mom for is passing on some of her dad’s books and correspondence to me. My grandfather, Ralph Whitson Seaman, was a Lutheran minister with excellent diction, a gift for learning languages, and a fascination for words. He also had a good sense of humor. At that time, his denomination and others … Read More
Learning from Eowyn
“Each of us is born with a box of matches inside us but we can’t strike them all by ourselves.” Laura Esquivel “The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire.” Ferdinand Foch Much that I’ve struggled to articulate and steal back about God’s view of women and raising daughters is captured in an intriguing scene involving … Read More
The Power of Introverts
I’m an introvert and maybe you are too. If not, I’m quite sure you care about some, as that’s what one-third of us are. The quotes below are from Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain. It’s a superb book that has not only helped me better understand some of my weaknesses … Read More
Gardening in Lent
By Timothy Austen There are good Christmas songs and there are bad ones. Stay with me, folks. I know it’ spring. The good: Some traditional Christmas music beautifully captures the spirit of waiting and patience that Advent—and, for that matter, our current season of Lent—requires of us. For example: “How long is this Mariah Carey song, and when will it … Read More
Deconstructive Thoughts on “Forgetting Those Things Which are Behind”
“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 3:13-14, KJV) (Phil. 3:13-14, KJV) This blog has always been about sharing “constructive … Read More
My 2021 Favorites
Happy New Year, dear friends! Besides a favorite pic of my grandkids above and one of our church plant below, here are my favorite quotes from 2021 on… How We Treat People: “The Bible calls on us to develop a theological imagination within which we see the world as a community and not a collection of hostilities.” -Esau McCaulley “Condemnation, … Read More
Uncertainty and God’s Will
I’ll never forget the time our youth pastor’s wife came up to me after the Sunday morning service and said, “Pastor Greg, can you help us? We don’t know what the h*ll we’re doing!” She was referring to the profound uncertainly she and her husband both felt over what God wanted them to do vocationally and where he wanted them … Read More
Malachi’s Vision of Hope: Remember, Return, and Rest
“On the day when I act, says the LORD of hosts. Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel. “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children … Read More
Is God Male?
Most children’s catechisms answer the question, “Who is God?” with some version of the statement, “He is a spirit and has no body as we do.” A study guide commenting on the Westminster Shorter Catechism’s version of this question explains, “When we say that God is a Spirit we make clear the fact that He is distinct from all things … Read More