Some people (cough cough Bethany Bylsma) don’t seem to appreciate the choice of this particular song. But I am enjoying dwelling with this through several versions, melodies, and artists. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote the poem “Christmas Bells” in 1863. His second wife had passed away, …
Read MoreFinals-Come Thou Long Expected Jesus
What a fascinating matchup for the finals! The intensity and angst of Wolves at the Gate, vs. the instrumental serenity of my friend Wendy Goodwin (and Jeff Johnson and Brian Dunning). Make your votes in the final battle by Sunday at 7 pm PST. I’m …
Read MoreRound 3–Come Thou Long Expected Jesus
We’re down to four. You’ve heard them all, so vote quickly! Polls close at 8 pm PST on Saturday. [polldaddy poll=10185430] #1 Wolves at the Gate vs. #4 Lexington Road [polldaddy poll=10185434] #2 Seacoast Worship vs. #11 Jeff Johnson, Brian Dunning, Wendy Goodwin
Read MoreRound 2–Come Thou Long Expected Jesus
The moral of the story is, despite all your yelling over the years, I’m actually decent at seating. The 9, 10, and 11 seeds got the upsets (and the 12 seed almost did), but other than that it held to form. Here are your new …
Read MoreCome Thou Long Expected Jesus-Bracket Released
Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a special introduction to this year’s Advent Caroling Madness! Thank you, Jon Curtis Gemeroy! [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwM6u3TMWm4] Advent is beginning, and the season of Advent was created to help us tap into the longing we have for things to be made …
Read MoreTime for Advent Caroling Madness, 2018!
We are getting close to the Christmas season, and as I already warned my family, I am ALL IN this year. So we are doing things a little differently this year, opening song nomination for all the songs NOW. The original brainstorm was 5 years …
Read MoreHadrian’s Wall
It isn’t remarkable to look at, this path I walk atop the stacked stones of Hadrian’s Wall–but it is an ancient border, an historic boundary, a demarcation of Empire. For 1900 years these stones have weathered the ebb and flow of human history. Telling the …
Read MoreSelf-reinforcing Cycles
(Content warning: description of disclosure of sexual abuse.) Her words hung there, between us, naked and vulnerable, the long years of secrecy and darkness seeming to still cling to them, weighing them down. I use hung there as a flawed metaphor; something that is so …
Read MorePursuing the Pursuing God
(Message given at Newberg Emerging Friends Church on July 15, 2018) Tonight I stand with millions of Jesus-followers throughout the centuries, joining with them to remind us that the Creator of the Universe wants to be known, and is a living, pursuing, healing, and justice-seeking …
Read MoreRisking Community
I still grieve over the pain so many feel after years of church turmoil. Uprooted, displaced, hopes raised and then dashed, confused, unsure, frustrated, angry, lost, lonely, questioning, doubting, sad, disillusioned, powerless, let down…and grieving. I’ve wrestled with whether or not to write this. I …
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