“Do you have someone of EVERY generation in your group?” My colleague asked this of our school social worker, who was sharing about a pottery class that she’d been taking for about a year. She began...
I visited my mother’s home in the Philippines, a province called Aklan, during the famous Ati Atihan Festival. In a sense, it is a celebration of darkness. The Indigenous peoples in the Philippines...
The summer shadows were long as I drove down a quiet road one morning. Flipping on the radio, I heard a woman speaking and was immediately drawn in by her words. She described how, long ago, her...
The Christian Reformed Church in North America started their “Mission in Japan” in 1950. The Tokyo Egota (or Ekota) mission station was one of the earliest mission stations established by the CRCNA in...
“Mr. Kevin, as the Director of Resonate Global Mission, please continue to support our work here in our villages.” I heard this refrain over and over again as I sat with about eight Kenyan...
Like many of you, I have been reading tributes to and stories of Pope Francis. Stories such as how every night at 7pm he would call a tiny Roman Catholic church in Gaza to check on them. His last call...
“But a Samaritan came, and when he saw him…he bandaged his wounds.” (Luke 10: 33f.) “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink….?” (Matt. 25: 37) Years ago when I was...
At a recent worship service in my home congregation, we moved through the ordinary rhythms of common worship: singing songs of praise and gratitude for God’s work among and for us, confessing our...
“I feel sad,” I admitted to my friend Wynette as she rode with me while driving around Tulsa, noticing how things had changed. I was grieving. I was in town to attend services for my former roommate...
I “attended” two funerals this month: I followed President Jimmy Carter’s funeral service on TV, and a funeral for a two month old infant was held in our church the following week. Superficially, they...
I am not usually one for New Year’s resolutions, but I thought I’d give it a try this year. My resolution? More tears. I’ll put the gym membership off for another year, keep the low-sugar recipes on...
The sum of all our efforts didn’t add up and meet our expectations. We read books on how to renew a church. We discerned the future with the congregation. The Council met late into the night...
