In seminary, I was a youth pastor. Every summer during this time, I served as a volunteer at high school church camp. Those were halcyon days spent in small groups, worshipping under the stars, eating junk food with no regret and climbing  “The Mountain,” a cedar-cloaked bluff topped with a...

The flu is fierce this season. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports that this year’s outbreak is on pace to be the worst in nearly a decade. Influenza activity is now widespread in 48 states and Puerto Rico. If that news isn’t bad enough, the season hasn’t peaked yet....

A few of my clergy colleagues have just completed the “Live Complaint Free” challenge. The brainchild of Rev. Will Bowen of Kansas City, the campaign utilizes a bracelet to remind the wearer not to complain or criticize for 21 straight days. If one breaks the pledge, he or she has to...

We’ve all heard the phrase, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade” – but what if life hands you a pile of jalapeños? That’s the situation I faced earlier in the month when I was preaching a revival near Austin, Texas. The host pastor took me out for lunch after...

Do you know that you glow? No, I’m not talking about the clammy glow you sport after a workout. I’m talking about actual light that comes out of our bodies. According to a 2009 study conducted by the Tohoku Institute of Technology, human bioluminescence exists – it’s just too faint for...

Mark Twain reportedly said, “It ain’t those parts of the Bible that I can’t understand that bother me. It’s the parts that I do understand.” One such understandable story is found in Matthew 9:9: “As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth....

Oh, come, Thou Dayspring from on high, And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh; Disperse the gloomy clouds of night And death’s dark shadows put to flight. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel. Have you ever witnessed the darkness turn into dawn? It’s beautiful, isn’t it? The...

Oh, come, Desire of nations, bind In one the hearts of all mankind; Oh, bid our sad divisions cease, And be yourself our King of Peace. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to you, O Israel! What — or who — is this desire of nations? The reference is from Haggai 2:7...

Like you and me, Jesus had a family tree. The Gospels of Matthew and Luke agree that one of Jesus’ ancestors was none other than the great King David. Some have noticed similarities between the two; for instance, both were born in Bethlehem; the early shepherd life of David points...

On a recent Sunday morning, I was the guest preacher at a church near my house. A handbell choir, donning Christmasy-red shirts and white gloves, opened the service with a rendition of “O Come O Come Emmanuel.” I’ve loved this haunting Advent hymn since my childhood. The original version of...