Articles

Why North American Anglicans are the Way We Are

The article below was written for a website called “Stand Firm” and was intended for a much wider audience than the Church of the Good Shepherd. In it, I seek to explain at least some of the reasons Episcopalians and Anglicans tend to struggle with biblical literacy. Despite the fact that more scripture is read in Episcopal/Anglican churches on Sunday morning than in most other denominations, many Episcopalians/Anglicans do not seem to have a good grasp for the content of scripture or how to study the bible profitably. The lack of this knowledge and skill on the part of both clergy and people was, I believe, the most important factor in the recent demise of the Episcopal Church and her full embrace of dangerous teachings.

“The Real Gospel”: Speaking to a Mormon Congregation

To my surprise, one of the local Mormon churches asked Chris Jones (one of Good Shepherd’s vestrymen) and me to speak at a special dinner gathering last week. They billed the night as a “fireside” chat. The theme was “I Believe in Christ”. The idea they seem to have intended to promote is that Mormons and Christians share the same faith in the same Christ.

Holy Week Schedule 2012

Holy Week Schedule 2012: So here is the Holy Week Schedule as it stands now….we’ll send a note if there are any changes.

Article: How to Give Generously Without Creating Dependency

How Jesus Cleans His Church

Keeping the church building clean is everybody’s job. When I eat something in the parish hall, I need to clean it up so that no one else has to be burdened by my mess. But there are some messes that are too much for anyone to clean. I can wipe up spilled coffee and clean bread-crumbs off the table well enough, but what about my self-centeredness, my pride, my unforgiveness? I’m pretty helpless when it comes to those things. And the bible teaches that you are too.

Adding to that, we all have these sinful messes in our own individual lives and hearts and God brings us together as one body, one church, in Christ. So instead of a lot of little messes running around the world, God gathers us all together in one place so that we can all make messes together. Sooner or later my mess spills over into your life and yours into mine. What are we to do? Give up the church? Jesus doesn’t give us that option (Hebrews 10:25). So it looks like we’re stuck, doomed to be miserable together forever and ever. Or maybe not.

State of the Church: Remarks from the 2012 Annual Meeting

Rector’s Annual Meeting Remarks (notes)

This year is a big one for Anne and me. It will be our tenth year at Good Shepherd and Good Shepherd is our first and only experience pastoring an entire congregation. I’ve never been a pastor anywhere else which means you’ve had to put up with all our mistakes and inexperience…and there will be more where that came from.

How to Pray Like a Disciple (part 1)

This article was originally the first of a series of three sermons on the Lord’s prayer in Luke 11. I’ll be posting the other two parts over the next two weeks…

The Faith that Justifies

What does it mean to be “justified by faith alone”? What kind of “faith” are we talking about? Is it believing all the stuff in the bible is true? Is it going forward for an altar call…what does it look like?

How Can Love Be Wrong?

That’s the question many people ask when they hear Christians raise objections to same sex marriage. The question is often grounded in the experience or observation of genuine loving unions between people of the same sex. How can relationships that seem so good, so life-giving, be wrong?

Answering that question requires that we step back a bit and, by way of background, challenge some of the more prevalent arguments for same sex marriage promoted in both the media and, sadly, by some ordained church leaders.

The Cloud and the Ascension

...both Luke’s gospel and Acts, Luke’s sequel to his gospel, use passive verbs to describe Jesus’ ascent. He did not levitate or fly up into the air. He was “lifted” (Acts 1:9) or “carried” (Lk 24:51) in a cloud…

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