Author: Administrador

Adam White Almost everyone in the assembly was laughing. What was strange was that no one had told a well-timed joke; no one had uttered a witty pun; no one had made a keen observation pointing out the absurd, and, most importantly, no one was being snickered at for some kind of mistake or misstep. … Continue reading “Laughing with Scripture”

David Lose Dear Working Preacher, My theme in a nutshell: Jesus called ordinary people right in the middle of their ordinary lives to do extraordinary things … and he still does. Sound familiar? I hope so, as I’ve written on this topic before. Three years ago, in fact, on just this passage, and while I … Continue reading “Fishers of People”

David Lose Dear Working Preacher, Two questions animated — or maybe haunted — my exegetical study this week. I’ll ask you to wrestle with each of them along side me for a few moments. First, what is blessing? Have you ever wondered about that? It’s one of those words that we have so thoroughly taken … Continue reading “On Beatitudes and Blessing”

Mark Strong It would sure be nice if the climate in our churches were always seventy-two degrees with brilliant blue skies and no chance of rain. Our pews filled with happy, content people, and no budget struggles are in sight. The community is missionally on point and people are simply enjoying life with God and … Continue reading “Preaching Joy in Times of Conflict”

David Lose Dear Working Preacher, Lately it’s occurred to me that I’ve been living something of a performative contradiction. It all started, I think, in seminary. This is where I learned that, because we are justified by grace through faith, we should stress always what God has done and be careful about talking about what … Continue reading “Called and Commissioned to Be Salt and Light”

Nathan Aaseng Just because I’m fascinated by the emerging church movement, the call to new life, and the need for the church to constantly tailor its message creatively to be coherent and relevant in our context doesn’t mean I’m anti-tradition. The church must be an active force in maintaining tradition. By tradition, however, I do … Continue reading “What Tradition Really Means”

Rolf Jacobson In the first of two essays, Rolf Jacobson takes liturgical lemons and attempts to make theological lemonade. Jacobson takes a personal quirk — the fact that the oft-repeated metaphor “Lent is a journey” irritates him — and uses the opportunity to reflect on how Christian leaders can help congregations experience Lent as a … Continue reading “Rethinking the ‘Lenten Journey’: The Train Has Left the Station (Part 1 of 2)”

David Lose Dear Working Preacher, Our relationships matter to God. Now, I’m guessing that it was rather easy for you to listen to that statement and more or less nod your head in agreement. But I think there are two rather stunning things about this assertion that we should consider before preaching this section of … Continue reading “The Relational God”

Rolf Jacobson In this second of two essays, Rolf Jacobson takes liturgical lemons and attempts to make theological lemonade. Jacobson takes a personal quirk — the fact that the oft-repeated metaphor “Lent is a journey” irritates him — and uses the opportunity to reflect on how Christian leaders can help congregations experience Lent as a … Continue reading “Rethinking the ‘Lenten Journey’: Start by Asking, ‘What’s Lent for?’ (Part 2 of 2)”

David Lose Dear Working Preacher, I think a lot of us probably have one of two reactions to this passage and the (in)famous commands it contains. The first is simple, and a little sad: we’ve heard Jesus’ commands so often that they hardly register. “Turn the other cheek.” Yeah — yawn — sure. “Love you … Continue reading “The Revolution Starts Here”