Urban Gathering Center

SONGS ABOUT FEET When I was a child, we sang a song at church about feet. I thought it was odd at the time but everyone else was doing it so, "ok". Don’t get me wrong, I loved songs about body parts. “Do your ears hang low” was one of my favorites and even a song about your feet being too big for the bed. This song about feet however, was a serious song. I think the lyric came from the Bible, "Beautiful are the feet of him who brings good news.” Kinda odd right? A bigge

GRAMMAR LESSON One of the great laments of modern Christianity is that it has become a noun. Much of what I read abut faith, is about the what rather than the how. To be a follower of Jesus has gone from following Jesus to being a follower of Jesus. The point of this creed is not only to give us language for what we believe, but for what we do with what we believe. BEING SENT In the book of Genesis we learn about the father and mothers of the three Abrahamic religions. Th

TRANSFORMATION On March 4th, Spirit of Peace held the dedication of the, “Urban Gathering Center.” It is a 32 bed gathering center for groups who want to come into the city to explore, serve and learn. The dedication was a milestone event for our little church and it took all of our efforts to get it ready. Some organized the event, others painted and cleaned, others assembled beds and laid carpeting. We did a once over of the entire building including a new coat of paint

BROTHERS AND SISTERS FROM OTHER MOTHERS AND MISTERS One day at Synod Convention, just after my graduation from Seminary, I had a chance encounter with a friend affectionately know as Doctor Abe. As we talked I asked him what was happening down at his church, Divine Word-Pentecost. With a smile on his face, he told me, “We’re hanging in there.” I asked if they had a pastor and he said, “Not right now.” I asked if they ever needed someone to help out with pastoral "stuff",

FORGIVENESS For much of my life I have seen Holy Communion only as a vehicle to wash away my sins and start again. I have many meaningful memories of times that I was weighed down with guilt. I came forward, and knelt at the communion rail to pour out my heart. For the most part I was able to walk back to my seat knowing that I was forgiven. It is not my intent to take that away from anyone. Sometimes it is just what we need. I also want to share other ways I have newfo

Who Sparks Our Creative Passions SPIRITUAL RETREAT I have tried to take spiritual retreats where I go to a quiet place armed only with my bible, a journal, and my thoughts. It usually is a miserable time. I struggle to hear God’s whisper of truth just for the sake of my personal edification. I hear stories of amazing retreats of this nature taken by friends and colleagues. I am always a bit envious. I get too distracted with my random thoughts and don’t come away with m

WHEN GOD SPEAKS I do not claim to have ever heard the voice of God, at least not audibly. How great would that be… though maybe a bit terrifying. I guess it depends on what God says. I believe it is possible that God speaks audibly to people, but deep down I doubt it. In my expereince, God speaks in many ways. Sometimes it is when I turn off the noise of the world and sit quietly. other times it comes through the noise, and often through a conversation with a friend. MA

A BUNCH We live in a world where with just a few clicks you can have a pizza delivered, view a video of a piano playing cat, and apply for a mortgage. “I just googled the question, how much data is on the internet?” The short answer, a bunch. We have the power at our fingertips to know things that we didn’t even know we wanted to know. Knowing God however is another matter. KNOWING GOD It is one thing to know the right things about God. The Bible is full of stories about

FAITH HEALING There are certain things you can’t unsee. I once saw someone miraculously healed. It leaves quite an impression. My mom and dad were involved with something called the, “Charismatic Movement” back in the early eighties. I remember going to the, “Copper Country Holy Spirit Conference,” where I saw some really wild stuff. A faith healer came and called people out of the audience who had some ailment. He asked them to come up on stage where He would lay a hand

GENEROSITY There are some things in life that make us feel alive and some things that inspire us to truly live. What I mean is, I sometimes go in search of things that will make my heart race and my senses heightened. They might involve behaviors like downhill skiing or rock climbing or asking a girl to dance. The first two I haven’t done in quite a while and the last one, well I just signed up for tango lessons with my fiancee. I also used to wait to the last minute to g