Discipline
Those of us who live as followers of Jesus are constantly seeking to pay attention to spiritual realities as we live within these physical realities. This paying attention to spiritual realities has at least two aspects to it: one, putting aside distractions and two, being intentional about pursuing spiritual growth. Distractions may be things like…
Continue readingOccupy Our Calendars
Our times are in your hands:But we count our times for us;we count our days and fill them with us;we count our weeks and fill them with our busyness;we count our years and fill them with our fears.And then caught up short with your claim,Our times are in your hands!Take our times, times of love…
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Stars
I am feeling the need to take a trip to a place where I can see a large number of stars at once. Every once in a while I get this sense and I have learned to listen to this call of my spirit. I find I need to periodically make time for seeing the…
Continue readingGEMS
My maternal grandfather went by the name, George Edward Maclaren Smith. “Maclaren” was his own invention. He liked the sound of it; it served him well when he wished to emphasise his Scottish heritage to seek employment; and he liked the initials G. E. M. S. on the steamer trunk that carried his belongings from…
Continue readingWomen and Church Leadership
There is much rhetoric today about men’s and women’s roles in the church. Words like patriarchal, strong complementarian, moderate complementarian, egalitarian, and feminist get used in the debates. It is certainly a lively controversy in the church. You might want to read Adrian Warnock’s blog regarding the spectrum of views on gender roles to familiarize…
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