Download workshop slides in this post.
Read More
Slides for NEXT Church National Gathering 2016 Workshop
Read More
:: A Sermon on Mark 9:30-37 ::
In the face of all the tragedy in today’s world…we, like the disciples, may not understand. We may have our priorities backwards. We may be too afraid or ashamed to ask the questions of our hearts. We, too, can be paralyzed, retreating into apathy.
Gathering with others who see the hurt of the world and the hurt in our own lives gives us a chance to process and to mourn and to find new life. The rituals and traditions we enact serve as containers for our grief, providing safe space...
Read More
:: A Sermon on Mark 6:30-34, 53-56, with Thoughts from The Wild Goose Festival ::
We often go looking for healing on our own, in a secluded place, but sometimes the only place we can find the healing we need is in the crowd of community.
There are many different kinds of healing - physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and relational. In today’s story, I think it is both emotional and physical healing that Jesus tries to offer the apostles after their journeys. But of course, Jesus is interrupted...
Read More
:: A Thought from NEXT Church National Gathering::
I love experiential worship (can't you tell?). So, when I saw a workshop about it scheduled for the NEXT Church National Gathering in Minneapolis, I was excited.
After talking about the basics of thinking out of the box, we looked at the story of the resurrected Jesus feeding the disciples on the beach from John 21. I chuckled inside as the leader asked our table groups to imagine a prayer station for this passage - we had just created a table-scape for communion based on this text. It felt like I had the answer to the test! But I contained my glee and listened to the other group members, realizing that each story has multiple...
Read More