Date: Second Sunday of Easter – April 11, 2021 Texts: Acts 4:32-35; Psalm 148; 1 John 1:1-2:2; John 20:19-31 Context: Easter is a season as well as a specific date. Our Lord rose three days after his crucifixion, and this unparalleled event in human history is given a liturgical season to better flesh out more… Continue reading Reading Ramblings – April 11, 2021
Reading Ramblings Intro
For years now – over a decade – it has been my practice to provide some food for thought on the readings for worship. This does several things. It helps me begin my process of thinking about the texts for the upcoming Sunday, including some preliminary isogogical and exegetical work. It also hopefully has been… Continue reading Reading Ramblings Intro
He Is Risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia! There is nothing else that matters as much as this. No deeper reality. No greater hope. No more present comfort. He is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Orientation
Maybe you’ve heard presentations from people at your congregation before. Talking about going off to distant lands and inviting you to partner with them. You might have marveled that anyone could consider such a a strange venture. But you probably also marveled that these people could get up and give a presentation in front of… Continue reading Orientation
Vocation
Vocation’s a big word with a lot of nuances depending on the context you find it in. Some people equate it with a career, but it traditionally draws in the idea that you have some gifts or abilities in the area being discussed. It’s more than making a buck, it’s doing something you were designed… Continue reading Vocation
Making New Friends
We know, of course, that we aren’t doing this alone. We can’t. This will only work with partners. Friends. People behind us and alongside us and ahead of us. These friends and partners will be of value in so many different ways, just as different parts of a body should. Having hosted close to 70… Continue reading Making New Friends
Orientation Bound!
My wife and I get up at a truly awful hour tomorrow morning to begin a somewhat circuitous journey towards our first mandatory orientation as I start up as a Theological Educator bound overseas. We’ll make a pit stop in Iowa to visit some fantastic supporters, then jump back on a plane to St. Louis… Continue reading Orientation Bound!
Work in Progress
Yeah, so. I have a background in technology, but not in the artistic part of it. I’ve been blogging for nearly 15 years but take a somewhat perverse pride in having one of the ugliest blogs on the Internet – at least in terms of aesthetics. I had hoped this one would be different, but… Continue reading Work in Progress
Starting Week Two
This week there are fewer videoconferences to handle. There are some paperwork loose ends to be chased down and tied off. And then on Friday we head out to headquarters in St. Louis for mandatory new employee orientation. It’s been a long time since I’ve been part of a bureaucracy. A long time since I’ve… Continue reading Starting Week Two
What Do You Mean We Have Partners?!?!
How is that even possible? Just a few days officially on the job, and already support is being raised, partnerships created. If you doubt miracles, I can assure you they are real! I started getting notifications from a fund-raising group associated with our denomination that people were already partnering with us, sending in money to… Continue reading What Do You Mean We Have Partners?!?!
The Nelson Family Indonesia 