Why religious literacy matters

Last Wednesday Joe Biden, vice president of the U.S., was at a press conference.  The commentators had a short conversation about what was on his forehead.  At one point they mused that it was possibly a bruise from skiing. It was Ash Wednesday. They were ashes. Ok a few ground rules here people. -You don’t [...]

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Ask a pastor

Last night we had a two hour long youth group time.  It was “ask a pastor” night, and I was the pastor. It went an hour longer than normal because the kids were asking so many really good questions. From evolution to the rapture. They had so many questions that they demanded that we do [...]

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Lenten thoughts

I’m praying a modified version of the Rosary this Lent Season.  Here are a couple of random but initial thoughts after the first week.  Some of these might not be very surprising for some of you, but this is what has floated to the top this week. 1. The anchoring effect is surprising.  I’m a [...]

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SCC + WDC = ?

In a the landscape of the still fledgling denomination known as Mennonite Church USA (MCUSA), there are a number of clear signs that the merger of the Mennonite Church and the General Conference Mennonite Church is not complete.  Quite frankly, even though the merger was official about 9 years ago now, we’re not even close [...]

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Adding and letting go

This past Sunday I put a bit of a spin on the whole Lent thing.  There are a lot of people who “give up” something for let.  Many times it just seems trendy and false.  There’s often a show to it.  Never mind the fact that most people give up something that they shouldn’t be [...]

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Not about the game

A while back I read an article about the development of Television.  The new form of media was initially heavily subsidized by the federal government, not because they thought it was essential for communication or entertainment, but because of the massive new opportunity for advertising and supporting the business community. Translation: the reason TV exists [...]

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MMA – Not the insurance company

MMA – Mixed Martial Arts Normal person’s translation – beating the tar out of each other via a combination of karate, boxing, judo and all kind’s of other forms of pain inducing and blood drawing butt kicking. Then I heard a little bit on NPR’s “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me”.  It was about Christian MMA. [...]

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Time flies: a justification

I know that I’m not really old enough to be complaining about being too old.  That being said, I am beginning to notice various changes in my life, mostly revolving around issues related to hair (especially nasal) that I find new and disturbing. As with most people who are getting older, time feels like it [...]

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Merry Christmas?

So I know that this is pretty late, but I’m going to post it anyways.  Katie and I finally got around to sending out hard copies of our Christmas letter.  If you haven’t received one, well……there are a multitude of reasons why.  Most of them are our fault not yours.  Anyways, if you’re interested in [...]

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