Looking for the Spirit of Life
Dan Schrock
A common phrase lots of people have been using the last few months is “go back to normal.” You’ll hear it in sentences like, “When we go back to normal, I want to take a cruise in the Caribbean,” or “I’m so ready for everything to go back to normal, like it was before the […]
Practicing Resurrection
Dan Schrock
I In the last four weeks, I’ve been talking with Christians across the United States, from Virginia in the east, to California in the west; and from Minnesota in the north, to Florida in the south. I’ve listened to pastors, conference ministers, therapists, and spiritual directors. All of them are asking the same underlying question: […]
We’re Blind
Dan Schrock
These days, we are blind. We really, really wish it were not so. But in truth, right now we are all blind people. Up until 2 or 3 weeks ago, most of us had established, predictable, and comfortable lives. We got out of bed, dressed, and went off to work or school or whatever else […]
Good, Fallen, Redeemed
Dan Schrock
The other day I went grocery shopping at Kroger. Into my cart went strawberries and a pineapple, carrots and broccoli, onions and garlic, dried small red beans, oatmeal, milk and yogurt, and a score of other food stuffs in bags, packages, cans, and cartons. I’ve shopped at Kroger for about 27 years, and when I […]
The Other Half of the Story
Dan Schrock
For the last twenty years, I’ve read the New York Times nearly every day. It’s not my only source of news, but it has been my main source of news. I don’t read the whole paper every day because that would take too long. Instead I generally focus on national and international news, along with […]
A Vulnerable God
Dan Schrock
I once led a retreat for a small group of Christians. I began the retreat by asking them to sit quietly for a moment and identify the main image for God which they carried around in their heads. After a few minutes of silence, each person went around the circle and shared with us their […]
Looking Toward the Finish Line
Dan Schrock
I’ve watched at least two dozen people die, possibly three dozen. Many of those deaths were navigated well, but at least two of them were not. The first death happened to a young man with AIDS. Back in those long-ago days, getting AIDS was an automatic death sentence because medical science had no way of […]
Introverts in the Church
Dan Schrock
I recently saw an advertisement for a new pastor. It specified that “the candidate must have an outgoing and energetic personality.” For many churches, the ideal pastor is outgoing, gregarious, loves to meet new people and shake their hands, is quick-witted in social conversations, has lots of energy, and dazzles people with charm and charisma. […]
From Loneliness to Solitude
Dan Schrock
About thirty years ago, I began my first pastoral assignment at Lombard Mennonite Church, in Lombard, Illinois. Back then I was an assistant pastor working under the supervision of the two senior pastors, Joe and Emma Richards. One morning in the church office, Joe announced that after lunch, he and I were going to visit […]
The Extravagant Disciple
Dan Schrock
This is a story of extravagance, of a woman named Mary who dumped very expensive perfume on someone’s dirty feet and then promptly wiped it off. You might call this action absurd, wasteful, or outrageous. Jesus, however, calls it discipleship. To understand why Mary was extravagant, look back to chapter 11. Lazarus, the brother of […]
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