June 2016

Q&A: Catechism

Q: I hear our pastor talking about beginning a catechism class. What is catechism anyway? Isn’t it for Catholics? I thought we were more interested as a denomination in getting people sanctified, not just memorizing cold facts about religion. ?

Interview with Rachel Crocker

Where were you born and where did you grow up? I was born in Guatemala. When I was a year old we moved to El Paso, Texas. Dad pastored there until we moved to the West Coast. When I was around 12, Dad wanted us to return to Guatemala to be closer to our family and our roots.

What Is Authentic Community?

Have you noticed how hard it is to be open and honest with others? I’m not talking about social-media open. It’s easy to repost an article on Twitter or to leave a comment on Facebook. If you dislike someone's opinion, you can unfollow them. If you offend someone they can just "block" you. But it’s not that easy in real life, is it?

Bringing the Story to Life

My kids got their good taste in music from me. They’re a little obsessive about it, though. Every time we get in the van, they want to listen to one particular bluegrass album over and over and over: Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder’s Live at the Charleston Music Hall.

One song, “A Simple Life,” proclaims, “My favorite book was wrote about a man that died to save my soul.” Whether he realizes it or not, Skaggs makes a profound claim with this simple lyric: the Bible is story.

Selfishness in the Church

Which is more important:

  1. Arriving at your vacation spot on time, or
  2. Making sure someone gets the treatment they need for a medical emergency?

Don’t ask the woman who spit in the security guard’s face as she was escorted off the plane.

Intimacy: A Better Story

The dreaded “sex talk.” I think this is a right of passage for every person who dares to embark on the journey of parenting. It wasn’t long ago that my wife and I entered into this awkward exchange of adult realities matched with our child’s innocent view of the world. Determined to beat his school to the punch, we pulled together our best material, which mostly emphasized body parts and how they worked together to make a baby. Though awkward and filled with many moments of silence, my wife and I felt like we had done a decent job.

Loving Creation, Loving One Another

Climate change. Global warming. Greenhouse gases. Rising sea levels. Dominion. Domination. Exploitation. Consumption. Tree Hugger. Eco-Friendly. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

Let’s get this out of the way. Talking about care of creation is risky. Why? Because it can be political, polarizing, and confusing. 

Breaking Poverty's Cycles

In September 2015, a photograph of three-year-old Aylan Kurdi's limp body on a Turkish beach was a gut check to sophisticated societies, reminding them of the fragility of life for millions of people fleeing economic and political chaos and highlighting the stark causes behind such desperation.