Humanity Washed Up on Shore

//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js Pictures are said to be worth thousands of words but Nilüfer Demir's picture of 3-year-old Alan Kurdi, found dead on the coast of Turkey could be worth millions of words.  On Wednesday this week Alan, his brother and mother all drowned trying to cross the Mediterranean from Syria to Turkey.  Only his father survived. …

A Funeral Sermon

In chapter fifteen, the Apostle Paul is wrapping up his first letter to the Corinthian church by answering a few practical questions. The Corinthian church had been confused about many things, not the least of which is Jesus and the resurrection of the dead. For starters, there were some in the church there who didn't …

Two Kinds of Racism

What does a Canadian white male do with what is happening in Ferguson, MO? The violence and the bitter distrust is heart breaking and I don't know what I can do about it. I would like to think that I could hold this at arms length and shake my head condescendingly since this kind of …

Attending a Church With 50 Members is Good For You (You Just Don't Realize It)

If you talk to church leaders – it won't matter what tribe you ask – they will likely tell you that attendance is down in their local congregation. Very few churches these days report numerical growth and many are in steady decline. That's bad news right? The problem with this issue is that there is …

Beyond Betrayal

"Hosea and Gomer" by Cody Miller. Hosea 3:1-5 1 The Lord said to me, “Go, love your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.” 2 So I bought her for fifteen …

Why Christmas is a Good Time to Grieve

I won’t be trite or fancy with this topic because there are many people I know and love that have a tough road to walk at Christmas time. What I mean by the title is this: the Christmas story, properly understood, is a great comfort to those who are grieving. Blogger Jon Bloom puts it …

What is a Christian Song?

“This is a Christian song?” We were having a father – son conversation in the car on our way somewhere when I had some words of praise for my son's – right at this particular moment – favourite band. The song is called “Demons” by Imagine Dragons but don't let the title fool you. The …

What Fresh Water Means

I read an interesting article today by Craig and Marc Kielburger in the Globe and Mail.  The two brothers have been social activists since they were 12 years old, co-founders of Save the Children and were the ones that came up with the "Me to We" campaign.  Every elementary school I know of has a …

Being an Agent of Hope

I read sobering article in the Globe today by Richard Wagamese.  He is a author and journalist who was born and raised a member of the Wabasseemoong First Nation in Northern Ontario. He wrote in The Globe about his struggle to run  a story telling workshop for teens in a Northern BC reserve.  He found …

Re: Why Churches of Christ are Shrinking

I recently figured out how to get people to read my blog!  Two blog posts recently addressed the flagging fortunes of my tribe and got massive amounts of feedback – Good, bad and ugly.  So all I have to do is talk about the Churches of Christ disappearing and the readers will come!  🙂  I …