Nagging God
Mark Schloneger
“Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart.” Sometimes, Luke makes things easy for us, or at least he appears to. Before we even get to the parable, before we even read the story, Luke provides us with the moral, the meaning, the golden nugget of […]
Church as Exile
Mark Schloneger
He saw her in the market, a rare breath of beauty amid the misery of his life in the refugee camp. Someone said she was from his village back in Syria, which he fled when a Syrian government plane dropped bombs that destroyed his home. And now, on a hot afternoon two months later, Samah […]
The March of the Kingdoms
Mark Schloneger
With a high school band or soldiers in basic training, one of the first things taught is how to march. And that’s not an easy task. Learning how to march takes practice, hours and hours of practice. Hours and hours spent paying attention to even the slightest details. The length of the stride. The pace […]
For This Reason
Mark Schloneger
For this reason. Those are the first three words of our scripture text this morning. For this reason, Paul writes, he prays to God for the church in Ephesus. Tomorrow, I’ll be traveling to Laurelville Mennonite Church Center in Pennsylvania for a meeting of the Values-Based Leadership Program. This has been helpful for me to […]
Augustus vs. Jesus
Dan Schrock
As followers of Jesus, there is one great sociological fact that we must deal with. It’s this: we live in the world’s richest, most powerful country. It doesn’t matter whether we like it or not. It doesn’t matter whether we’re glad about it or sad about it. It’s a fact of life. The United States […]
Speechless Wonder
Mag Richer Smith
MAKE READY FOR THE CHRIST, WHOSE SMILE, LIKE LIGHTENING, SETS FORTH THE SONG OF EVERLASTING GLORY THAT NOW SLEEPS IN YOUR PAPER FLESH…LIKE DYNAMITE! This is Advent and these words from Thomas Merton shape our calling: to Make ready for the Christ…to prepare for the birthing God has in store within each of us & […]
Wild Courage
Mag Richer Smith
Today we are in the wilderness with the people who’ve been liberated! With those who have been FREED … With those whom God has FED everyday for forty years, With those who have been trusting the CLOUD of Presence to be out ahead and lead into the PROMISE. We are here with these who’ve stayed […]
Tending the Mission of God in the World
Sherm Kauffman
Some years ago, I had the privilege of participating in several consultations that our denomination was a part of that was led by Church Innovations, a church consulting organization based at Luther Seminary in St Paul, Minnesota. The leadership for Church Innovations was a group of PhD and professor types that were trying hard to […]
Pursuing Peace, Living Hope
Marilyn Rudy-Froese
There are so many stories and events from around the world that can leave us feeling hopeless and discouraged. These stories, which we hear and see on the news and internet, which we read in the papers, are all about what’s wrong in the world, where the latest natural disaster has happened, how many casualties […]
Mary, Breaker of Codes and Conventions
Marilyn Rudy-Froese
One of my favorite novels is The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, set in South Carolina in 1964. In it a white teenager, Lily, struggling to make sense of her hazy memories from the afternoon her mother was killed, and living with a father who is abusive, runs away from home with […]
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