How to Pray in the Desert

25 minutes ago

2 Min Read

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The Psalms are a tried and true guide for prayer for two key reasons: They teach us how to pray from right where we are, and they invite us to pray beyond where we are.

More than once, David found himself hiding out in the Judean wilderness like a fugitive. One time, he was fleeing King Saul, whose jealousy of David had taken a murderous turn for the worse. Years later, after being crowned king, his own son, Absalom, staged a coup, sending David on the run, barefoot and weeping.

Though the exact occasion is ambiguous, Psalm 63 contains this prescript:

A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah.

Nothing like writing a song while you’re running for your life! Yet, as is often true in the arts, the most harrowing experiences often give birth to the greatest beauty.

David begins begins thirsty in the desert, but does not stay there. His own song carries him away…

To the good old days in God’s glory.

Lost in God’s love—better than life itself!

Hands and voice lifted in praise.

Soul fuller than a belly after Sunday supper.

Heavenly dreams in the night.

Singing like a baby bird under its mother’s wing.

Holding on to God; held by God.

(See Psalm 63:1-8).

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The Power of Opinions

1 day ago

2 Min Read

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You don’t have to voice your opinion.

About who your sibling marries. About who gets to be the leader. About where we go from here. About what’s on the menu. About how someone runs a program. About the quality of the performance. About the font in the document. About the way the teacher teaches. About the songs sung in church. About the color of the carpet.

It is possible to form no opinion on this matter and not be troubled in one’s mind; for things themselves are not of such a nature that they can create judgements within us.
—Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Often, our opinions cause us more trouble than they’re worth. Not because they’re wrong. Not because they’re right and the wrong people are angry. But because opinions take on a power all their own.

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In All Your Travels

2 days ago

1 Min Read

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God’s presence appears in different ways in different light. His guidance comes in different forms in different seasons. Part of the spiritual life is learning to discern when a fire is just a fire. When a cloud is just a cloud. When a bird is just a bird. When a dream is just a dream. When a hunch is just a hunch.

And when, despite all the hundreds of other similar fires, clouds, birds, dreams, or hunches you’ve experienced, this one is different. This one resonates with divine nearness. This one pulls you into the wilderness like a magnet.

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Anything Worth Building

4 days ago

1 Min Read

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Anything worth building is worth building well. The details matter.

Anything worth building is worth making beautiful. The artistry matters.

Anything worth building is worth involving others. The community matters.

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On Creativity

5 days ago

1 Min Read

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We humans are inherently creative creatures. Because we bear the image of the Creator, we simply can’t help ourselves.

Someone always has a song to sing. A book to write. A scene to paint. A figure to sculpt. A screenplay to draft. A garden to plant. A building to design. A product to develop. A business to found. A line of code to engineer. A community group to form. An initiative to launch. A lesson to teach. A dish to cook. A lesson to prepare.

Do you want to create something beautiful and useful for others? Here’s some quick advice:

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Being With / Doing For

6 days ago

1 Min Read

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The most important thing a church leader can do is to simply meet with God. Solitude. Silence. Listening. Intimate fellowship with the divine.

The second most important thing that a church leader can do is to take a younger leader-in-training along with them to meet with God.

The most important thing that a younger leader-in-training can do is to learn how to meet with God. To apprentice in the ways of solitude, silence, listening, and intimate fellowship.

The second most important thing that a younger leader-in-training can do is to stay in “the tent of meeting” long after the older leader has left. To double down on meeting with God rather than rushing out into all the busyness of ministry.

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Risky Worship

1 week ago

2 Min Read

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“Aslan is a lion—the Lion, the great Lion.”
“Ooh” said Susan. “I’d thought he was a man. Is he-quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion”…
“Safe?” said Mr Beaver… “Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Musical worship has become quite an industry. Our pop worship tends to be rather “safe.” In order to promote more streams and sell more tickets and VIP concert packages, all the rough edges must be smoothed off. Don’t be too edgy or avante garde. Play it relatively safe if you want to make a buck.

In our local congregations, we prefer the songs we know and love. We like our hymns sweet, our praise choruses encouraging, and our rock and roll loud and driving. If you want us to sing along, make us feel good by playing the tunes we know the way that we’re used to singing them.

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Good News / Bad News

1 week ago

1 Min Read

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First, the good news: “Go on up to the land flowing with milk and honey!”

All you’ve ever hoped for is about to come true. The good life. The easy life. You can finally kick up your feet. Mimosas every morning; pinots every evening. Friends and family laughing around every table. #BLESSED bumper stickers on every car. Everything is finally working out.

Then the bad news: “But I will not go with you.”

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Idols Don’t Just Magically Appear

1 week ago

2 Min Read

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Idols don’t just magically appear. It may seem to us that they snuck into our lives out of nowhere. We may tell others that they came to us of their own accord. We may protest that we had nothing to do with them, but that is precisely the trickiness of idols.

Our idols are formed out of things that are precious to us and the fires of discontent. They are the distorted offspring of love and hate, of deep beauty and superficial sparkle. We end up with idols when something good becomes malformed by our inner restlessness and outward complaining.

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The Darkness of God

2 weeks ago

2 Min Read

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It is true that light is a dominant metaphor for God, truth, holiness, etc. And darkness is mainly a metaphor for evil, deception, or sin. “God is light,” as John writes in one of his letters.

Yet this does not meal that all darkness is bad or evil. Sometimes, even in the Bible, darkness relates to God positively rather than negatively, as the very place where people encounter him.

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