Category Archives: On Faith

Motivational speakers have always been popular in evangelical churches. The gospel of positive thinking blends easily with the American tradition of self-reliance, self-improvement, and rugged individualism. We see ourselves as a nation that has pulled itself up by its own … Continue reading →

When Paul goes to Athens, he ends up preaching at the Areopagus (the Hill of Mars), a place surrounded by idols and altars dedicated to various gods. Spotting an altar dedicated to the unknown god, Paul proceeds to tell them … Continue reading →

A few Sundays back our Sunday School class looked at the life of Joseph: sold into slavery by his brothers, accused by Potiphar’s wife, thrown into prison, forgotten in prison, released from prison, made the second in charge of all … Continue reading →

The other day Teckla pointed out to me that when the author of Hebrews commends Joseph for his faith, he doesn’t mention his faithfulness in prison or in facing Egypt’s famine; instead he says by faith Joseph told his sons … Continue reading →

When I was about sixteen, I would often walk across the street to the Nazarene church my dad was pastoring and put in two hours cleaning the church. On one Saturday I didn’t take a key because my dad was … Continue reading →

If every person in Myrtle Point who has “tried” following God came to church on the same Sunday, probably every church would be full to overflowing.  Many who have tried “the God thing” will tell you up front that it … Continue reading →

It’s common to hear hip Christians like me say, “What’s important isn’t doctrine, but relationship with God!” And yet, the same folk who proclaim this often struggle to have a relationship with God. Eventually I figured out that doctrine and … Continue reading →

Renaming sin. We often rename sin so that we don’t have to acknowledge it. We may call our sin a weakness, a tendency, a personality trait, a necessary adaptation to circumstances, a mistake, an error, a bad habit, etc. Of … Continue reading →

On the way through the cemetery with the dog, I stopped at the blackberry patch. In late August Teckla and I had picked enough berries to make jam. But today it was cold and overcast— the first cold day after many wonderfully … Continue reading →