“Do not be conformed any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind in Christ Jesus…” (Rom 12:1) The past July, the protest and looting in South Africa left many of us in the church bewildered, angry, terrified, or even burnt-out. Church leaders and members were calledContinue reading “Spiritual formation in the most unequal society in the world.”
Category Archives: Kingdom
On being all there
I can smell the woodpile outside our house burning. The accumulation of dried brush, old leaves, and a tree felled a few months ago. The bonfire crackles in the smoky, damp evening, and suddenly, my stomach lurches, and I’m flung back across the ocean, across time, to Indiana cornfields. To pumpkins and to leaves soContinue reading “On being all there”
Eastertide: The way is made by walking
It was on Maundy Thursday that my husband and I began our pilgrimage in the south of France. Our walk on El Camino –the way. It was night, we were in an old stone church, hearing the readings about the children of Israel walking out of Egypt, and slavery, and starting their long walk toContinue reading “Eastertide: The way is made by walking”
A Psalm of Petition (a poem)
What I’m asking, the thing I seek, Is that you’d pitch a tent in my wilderness, please. Not the solid, brooding stone of Elijah’s cave. Not the haunting bird calls and thundering waterfalls Of David’s wild places. A space, a pause, Just a tent. And not the wilderness of solitude and temptation, But the oneContinue reading “A Psalm of Petition (a poem)”
On Comfort (Or, the Holy Spirit as doula).
So, in the social justice internet circles and books I read, “comfortable” is usually a dirty word. “Comfortable” is a sign you’ve sold out, you’ve bought into the American Dream, you’re valuing your own comfort over the justice that is required for the broader community. “Comfort” is right there next to “Convenient” and these areContinue reading “On Comfort (Or, the Holy Spirit as doula).”
Blessed are the efficient?
Blessed are the efficient, for theirs is the Kingdom. If you can’t tell, I’ve been wondering about this idea lately. First, Jesus never said that. I think maybe he said several things to the opposite- things like the Kingdom is as small as a mustard seed, we cannot take the Kingdom by force… also heContinue reading “Blessed are the efficient?”
Jesus Sad: Things my 2 year old is teaching me about lent
“Sad. Ouchies. Crying. Jesus sad. Pushing him. Ochies. Sad. Broken. Sad.” This is the litany I have listened to for the past month every morning as my almost-two-year-old son sits with me to read the Jesus Storybook Bible. It started about two months ago. We had a book about a bear and pig who wereContinue reading “Jesus Sad: Things my 2 year old is teaching me about lent”
Parks as protest
There’s some anxiety in South Africa right now about land reform — in a country with extreme inequality, questions about how we provide restitution for historical wrongs, and what political action needs to be taken in order to encourage more equality can be come charged and fierce. (Especially when you throw a nice dose ofContinue reading “Parks as protest”
We can’t be defensive about this one
Lately I’ve seen a lot of Christian friends sharing John MacArthur’s response to what happened in Charlottesville. (The video has been shared 42 thousand+ times on Facebook and viewed 30 thousand+ times on Youtube). The question MacArthur was asked was, “What is a biblical, Christ-focused response to what’s happening in Charlottesville?” John MacArthur gave aContinue reading “We can’t be defensive about this one”
A letter to my white son
I started writing this letter to you just after Mother’s day. And suddenly three months have gone by and you’re almost sitting up and rolling over. That’s just how things go, I guess. Somehow, too, in the same space of time we’ve gone from a police shooting to white supremacists marching in public. That’s alsoContinue reading “A letter to my white son”
Stephanie Ebert 