As we prepare to transition from Advent, our season of waiting turns to a season of wonder, a season of magnificent hope and expectation, walking in awe of the miraculous that we ourselves have been able to see and behold. We welcome the new year and with it, yet another reminder of God’s steady faithfulness for and unto each of us. Thank you, Lord!

“The world is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air…” That’s how The Lord of the Rings movies begin. I know this because I’ve seen them a hundred times. Or at least, I’ve seen the beginning a hundred times, before dozing off and waking up halfway through the movie. “There’s something in the air.”

“세상이 바뀌었습니다. 물속에서 느낍니다. 지구에서 느낍니다. 공기 중에도 냄새가 납니다…” 반지의 제왕 영화에서 시작하는 대사입니다. 저는 이 영화를 몇 백 번을 보았기에 다 외웠습니다. 최소한, 영화를 보다가 졸다가 중간 부분에 깨기 전에 시작 부분을 백 번 이상 보았습니다. “공기 가운데 무엇인가 있습니다.”

The Fellowship is family. Some of the most sustaining ministry relationships that I have are across the regions of The Fellowship. Speaking of finding the intimacy of family within the community we call The Fellowship, we are less than 2 weeks away from Advent. We are less than 40 days removed from Christmas, less than 50 days from…

We’re just a small church here in Northern California, 120 people or so. We’re probably a typical group of Jesus-followers, if there is such a thing. We’re good at some things, not so much at others. We have extroverts and introverts, mature believers and people just checking out the faith. We like to do things,…

I attended the Theology Matters conference in Hiton Head, SC earlier in October to gather with about 135 of my brothers and sisters in Christ. This was my first time at this conference. I was delighted to be reminded of the connectionism of the PCUSA. I bumped into the pastor who served at my church…

What a delight to see so many friends from The Fellowship Community at the 2024 Theology Matters Conference in Hilton Head, South Carolina! Ray, Cynthia, and Jim – all TFC board members – thank you for making the trek! It was wonderful to catch up and hear about ministry in your contexts, and to talk…

How do you explain an experience to someone, with concrete, factual, tangible and tactile language?  How do you share that which you experienced in a way that communicates the great value and the riches you found in it? This is exactly the situation I find myself in every week as I seek to respond to the…

Several decades ago, I attended a Christian discipleship seminar. The leader challenged us to think hard about what kind of music we listened to, so as not to be unaware of things which subtly influenced us. I still remember his litany of caution: “Anything held constantly before the mind becomes a part of you.” For…

I think I now have every single book that Frederich Buechner ever wrote, and they have been a rich trove of meaningful quotes for my faith, sermons or teaching. Despite having a decidedly cerebral approach to life and faith, a major turning point in Buechner’s life involved a miraculously mundane incident. In Telling Secrets, Buechner…

I had a lot of time to think, pray and contemplate this month, in a wide array of locations. Vacation took me to a rooftop deck in Jersey City, NJ while visiting our daughter Dana, son-in-law Ted and first grandchild, Ellie Anne!  (Just ask, I can send you hundreds of pictures). A train enroute to…

In my most recent conversation with an inquiring congregation, the question was raised: “Why would we join the Fellowship?” This was not the first time that I have received this question or something similar to it. Questions like, “What does the TFC have to offer us?”  or, “What will we gain from joining with this group?” I have to...

Last weekend, we were reminded that we live in a fallen world.  We live in a fallen country and that we are all fallen men and women. Last weekend there were shots fired and casualties taken as an attempted assassination of former President Trump. Our response is not speaking of political alignments. I am not speaking of platform agendas. I…

I was probably twenty years old, in college and volunteering as a Young Life leader working with high school kids. One of the area staffers asked if I wanted to meet him for coffee. We did, sitting in a coffee shop somewhere, catching up on life and ministry and then…he asked the question. “So, what’s…

On what is seemingly a regular occurrence, and increasingly so when we think of the pressures of the immediate days upon us, I find myself fielding some variation of the question, “What is The Fellowship Community?” I almost immediately reframe the question to, “Who is The Fellowship Community?” The answer to either of these questions is profoundly…

When we left Los Angeles five years ago and moved to pastor a small church in Northern California, it felt similar to other moves we’ve made–more of a call than a decision. We’ve never experienced the sense of deciding where we wanted to live geographically, or what kind of church to be part of, or…

Nearly a quarter-century ago I was a seminarian and wrestling with a surprise calling to become a pastor. I had been certain that God was calling me to become a professor, but after spending a summer serving as an intern at a PC(USA) church I was received by them with open arms, becoming a member…

I’m pretty sure it was Stephen Covey, back in the day (The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People) who originally said, “The main thing is to let the main thing be the main thing.”  Indeed. So there I was last week, waiting for a friend to join me at the Bad Ass Coffee shop–there are…

Nashville, we are coming for you!  Many of us are descending onto the musical motherland, known as Nashville. In fact, if you are reading this prior to Tuesday April 23rd, it is not too late to join us. For many of us, the opportunity to gather annually serves as a boost in the arm, while for others it…

Whew. I’m dragging just a little. It’s a few days after Easter. The season has been full of richness, but I’m a bit tired. I’ve written daily Lenten devotionals, newsletter columns, poems, sermons, Bible studies and planned out special services. I love what I get to do. And…I’m low on internal energy.  Perhaps you are…