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Colossians 4:3-4: Pray That I May Speak Clearly!

5 Comments / Colossians, Current Events, The Missional Church / By /

You might call me a news junkie. In a day’s time, I hear four radio newscasts, read the morning newspaper, catch a few articles from the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, or something else linked by the daily Church and the World news compendium. I read TIME Magazine cover-to-cover every week, watch the Nightly News on TV, 60 Minutes on Sunday night, and occasionally while I am sewing turn on BBC World News or the PBS News Hour. I am now sick of it. I am sick of the repetition of news stories, looking for new angles, new sensations, […]

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Colossians 4:2-6: Stay Awake! Keep Praying!

2 Comments / Colossians, Current Events, Leadership and Spirituality, Lung Cancer, Marriage Definition, Personal, Spiritual Disciplines, The Church in Exile, Uncategorized / By /

2Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt so that you may know how to answer everyone. I have been a morning person my whole life. In the evenings we have a family rule, “No

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In Memoriam: Steve Hayner

Leave a Comment / Colossians, Current Events, Death & Dying, People, Personal, Uncategorized / By /

A service celebrating the life and ministry of the Rev. Dr. Steve Hayner takes place today in Atlanta, Georgia. Steve was president of Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, and former president of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. He was also a friend and encourager to me, in the context of our national covenant group which met two weeks ago shortly after his death. Join me today in attending Steve’s memorial service at Peachtree Presbyterian Church through live-streaming. The service begins at 2 p.m. EST, and the worship bulletin is available as a PDF download here. As I participate in this service shortly,

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Colossians 3:15: “Peace! Peace!” But Is There Peace?

3 Comments / Church, Colossians, Current Events, Marriage Definition, PCUSA, Peace Unity & Purity / By /

Spring training has started! The Giants are warming up their pitchers and catchers in Scottsdale, AZ, this week. Assessments are being made, recovery from injuries celebrated, starting lineups tried on for size. Next week the full team checks in. As of today, Major League Baseball has exactly forty-five days until opening day, April 6. What we do not hear much about, however, are the umpires. The roster of 68 umpires qualified for “the Majors” is a traveling band of baseball experts. Their calls are sacred—even with official reviews, also made by umpires—and they bear an authority that elicits respect from

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Colossians 3:13: Bearing With One Another as a Lenten Discipline

4 Comments / Colossians, Current Events, Lent, Spiritual Disciplines, Uncategorized / By /

A Facebook friend was fretting a bit that she had not yet decided what to give up for Lent. She brings up an interesting question. As a born and raised Catholic, my family of origin refrained from eating meat on Fridays. Nowadays, such a discipline is a daily and year-round practice among vegetarians, robbing the deprivation of its spiritual meaning. But being the consumer society we are, chances are pretty good that we are all eating, drinking, injecting, or inhaling something that threatens to get the upper hand in our lives. Something in this category would be a sharper focus

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Colossians 3:12: Chosen, Holy and Beloved

6 Comments / Church, Colossians, Current Events, The Church in Exile, Uncategorized / By /

Finally I come ‘round again to the letter of Paul to the Colossians. I left off ten days ago with a general reflection on the idea that we are to clothe ourselves in Christ and his character. This week, I would like to use Paul’s list of admonitions as a springboard for discussion of the sorts of changes you anticipate Jesus might accomplish in you in today’s world. We’ll take this verse by verse through Colossians 3:17. Though it may seem like a thought coming from left field, I start by expressing my outrage at the anti-Semitism that is rising

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Colossians 3:1-4: We Get to Choose the Focus of Our Thoughts

2 Comments / Church, Citizenship, Colossians, Current Events, Death & Dying, PCUSA, People, Personal / By /

Last Saturday, my covenant group friend Steve Hayner died in the Lord. As his wife Sharol put it, his life was swallowed up in LIFE. I along with thousands of readers of his CaringBridge site, colleagues there at Columbia Seminary, and family and friends whose lives he touched in decades’ time, were aware that his homegoing was imminent. He was sick only about ten months, from diagnosis of his pancreatic cancer to the end of his life on earth. Occasionally he would share what was on his heart and mind as this process took its turns and twists. We all

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Colossians 2:11–15: Trust in Christ Is Completely Warranted

6 Comments / Colossians, Current Events, Theological Reflection / By /

My family and I have survived the white-knuckle viewing of yesterday’s Super Bowl game. You can guess, we were cheering for the Seahawks. Boo-hoo. It was a joy to watch, though, because the contest was close and the teams were a challenging match for each other. It also seemed to this rank amateur to be a clean game, with relatively few flags. Both teams racked up amazing accomplishments, and after the last two weeks I am actually glad for MVP Tom Brady’s victory. Well played. But football is football. It is a game, played according to detailed rules. While on

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Colossians 2:1-5: Don’t Fall for Nice-Sounding Arguments

2 Comments / Church, Current Events, Personal, The Church in Exile / By /

Measles is a hot topic here in California. Some children, enjoying themselves at Disneyland last month, apparently were exposed to the virus, and the disease is spreading in western states. This outbreak is particularly disappointing to the Centers for Disease Control, which had declared measles eradicated in the U.S. in 2000. I remember getting measles when I was 8 or so, before the vaccine was available in the mid-1960s. The widespread use of the vaccine and firm public health policies, such as requiring proof of vaccination before entering school, all helped eradicate the illness by the turn of the millennium.

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Colossians 1:9-11: A Productive Prayer for the Sojourner

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9. . . asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God. Parents encourage their emerging adult children with “You’ll know what to do,” but those young adults never grow old enough to know precisely what course to take any given moment. I have been a legal adult now for 43.5 years, and sometimes I still feel like I’m a

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