I was reading a reflection by a colleague this morning and was caught by how they described how practice helps us find our center. They wrote “Our spiritual practices…deepen and strengthen our capacity to find our way, find our breath, find our center, our grounding.” I was struck by what it means to find our center—to…

Paint is the only weapon I have with which to fight what I resent. If I could write, I would write about it. If I could talk, I would talk about it. Since I paint, I must paint about it. Charles White You might recognize one of the men in the picture above. On the…

This week marked the year anniversary of a small group of lovely dreamers, curious visionaries, and committed volunteers coming together to begin discussing and discerning God’s dream and purpose for Community Baptist Church. After our Advent theme last year that dared us to be like Those Who Dream, I invited anyone who wanted to be part…

Jesus continued, “The truth is, prophets never gain acceptance in their hometowns.” Luke 4:24 In 1986, President Reagan signed into law a bill designating the third Monday in January as a federal holiday to honor Martin Luther King Jr. whose birthday was January 15. The holiday, or MLK Day as it’s commonly called, was first observed three years…

In service on Sunday, I read the first part of Amanda Gorman’s new poem she wrote “to honor the hardships, hurt, hope and healing of 2021 while also harkening the potential of 2022.” I wanted to share the whole thing with you because of how eloquently she articulates how the hardships of the past year…

On Sunday, I read John O’Donohue’s poem “At the End of the Year” as the benediction. If you missed it, you can read the full poem HERE. The whole thing is good, but several lines caught my attention as another year of pandemic precautions and uncertainty draws to a close. When I first read these lines, I…

For us in the northern hemisphere, Tuesday was the Winter Solstice. It was a simple planetary rotation like any other twenty-four hour period, except on this spin something changed. The tilt of the plant shifted. We turned a cosmic corner. From now on our days will ever so slowly start to get longer. On Tuesday,…

Joy can be BIG It can be trumpets and fireworks. It can be shouted from the rooftops— Billboard-proclaiming, News-breaking, Ticker-tape parading kind of BIG! It can move your feet to dance, your heart to laugh, your toes to curl, and your arms want to embrace the world. It can fill your chest with hope, your…

You might have seen the odd-looking and even odder sounding word hygge floating around the last few years especially in winter months. It’s a Danish word and idea that’s gained popularity recently and has been translated in several different ways including, “the art of creating intimacy,” “coziness of the soul,” “taking pleasure from the presence of soothing…

Beloved of God, I’m continually moved, honored, and humbled by the ways you care for each other in hard times and celebrate together in times of joy. This week I read an article with the provocative title, “My Church is a Beautiful Waste of Money” (you can read the whole article HERE if you want). It’s a beautiful…