Liminality

I pray that, according the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit . . .” (Ephesians 3.16b)
 My mother teaches school.  She’s on block scheduling, so for an hour and a half each day she has planning period.  She learned a long time ago that part of her planning period must be devoted to writing letters to people in her community.  Hand written letters.  Not emails. She believes in the art of handwritten letters, and by spending her time writing to other people she strengthens her inner being. I had a professor in college, he was the epitome of ‘absent-minded professor,’ but every day he would shut and lock his office door at lunchtime, take off his shoes, and eat barefooted on the floor.  He argues he is never as close to God in any other moment in life than in that time.  The intentionality he gives in the thirty minutes on the floor strengthens his inner being. A friend of m...

In a postmodern, post-denominational, post-Christian, post-religious, post-everything world, the church has floundered on developing a consistent message to help transform culture. The church attempted to entertain – but not many twenty-somethings woke up to hear a bad guitarist sing shallow lyrics. The church then attempted to become as large and as user friendly as airport terminals – but it ended up being a three-ring circus, overcharging for books and Starbucks coffee. The church then attempted to push against culture by lighting candles and sitting in circles – but all it did was ostracize the very people who pay to keep our lights on. This midlife identity crisis watered down the history of our faith, confused culture, and unfortunately silenced our voice of change in the local community. Yet culture continues to look outside of its “self” for critical engagement and understanding. And where does it turn? To the place that’s hosting the most critical conversations! Not th...

Third century mathematician, Archimedes, coined the phrase, “Give me a lever and a place to stand and I’ll move the world.”  At the time he was talking about the power of a tool that uses force and a fulcrum to displace mass in order to create momentum and movement for a fixed object. But I think he also meant it to stand for a whole lot more. For instance, the claim that we can actually move the world is the claim we make when we devote our lives to Christ.  We emerge from the baptismal waters ready to join the cause of Christ; ready to offer grace, love, and forgiveness to a world trapped in sin, despair and regret.  It’s like a billboard shouting to the world, “I’m ready to help move you a few degrees closer to God.”  But in order to make this happen there are two key ingredients needed – a lever and a place to stand. The lever is the skill sets you acquire and the spiritual gifts God grants, and it looks different for all of us.  Some people hold th...