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Sickness, Grace, and Healing: 20 Years of Experience
I recently came across some old films from two decades ago. These are not pictures of my family making memories or reminders of my youth. They are images of my brain, MRI films from an era when hard copies were mounted on a lit background for evaluation. 2002 was the first time I got an…
The Perfect Prayer (Part 1)
There are a wide range of prayerful traditions, and a great deal of value in everything including liturgy, psalms, intercession, and so much more. Having seen God at work in many difference prayerful contexts, I find it hard to say the there is a “best” way to pray. Yet Jesus’ disciples asked how to pray,…

Humble Leadership (Part 3)
(Click Part 1 or Part 2 for the first two posts.) Leaders are influential not only through instruction of others, but by the example they set. One of the challenges of being in a position of authority is that every word and action is more carefully observed. As a result, many leaders feel they have…
Blessed are the Peacemakers: 3 Places to Encounter Shalom
When I look at the news headlines, I almost always see accounts of discord and power struggles, which catch our attention because of our aversion to pain and conflict. The global history of wars speaks of the human tendency to seek power, yet there remains a deep desire to live in a place of peace….

Spring Always Follows Winter
In much of the northern hemisphere, spring has arrived. The seasonal change is certainly evident here in the Middle East. Last month, when we took a picnic up to a lone tree on a hill, its March branches were still barren. It was that week that we celebrated “Nawruz,” the “new year celebration” that coincided…
Blessed are the Poor in Spirit
We’ve started talking about the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus begins his longest recorded sermon by diving right in to descriptions of people found in that kingdom (poor in spirit, mourning, meek, merciful, etc.), which sound much more like people on this earth than those experiencing eternal bliss. Yet, his statements of how such individuals are…