Parenting — Domestic Monastery
August 13, 2020
“The monastery is a school of love because it teaches us to forget ambition, convenience and self-gratification in order to open our hearts to love.” … More Parenting — Domestic Monastery
Tag: featured
Mining For God
August 5, 2020
When I find myself revisiting the valley of the shadow of death and making mental mud pies in the pit, the mind of my “flesh” tells me I’m in Enemy territory. The Spirit of Truth reminds me, “The light shines in the darkness.” … More Mining For God
A Conduit, Not a Factory
August 4, 2020
He is the faucet, the spigot, the ever flowing spring. I’m that rusty watering can with a slow leak. … More A Conduit, Not a Factory
Seeking Still Waters Under a Waterfall (1 Peter 2:1-3)
July 17, 2020
Soon the soothing sounds of the gentle breeze and singing birds were drowned out by loud music coming from a vehicle parked ahead by the stream. DNR officials were taking water samples from the stream. The people called to protect the beauty and peacefulness of the natural habitat were checking the water for pollutants while polluting the air with noise. … More Seeking Still Waters Under a Waterfall (1 Peter 2:1-3)
A Weekend at the Father’s Cabin
June 28, 2020
The Father’s Cabin is an account of Jeremy’s imaginative and prayer-generated journey to a quiet, northern lakefront cabin where the Son of God himself is our host and guide. The Father’s Cabin illuminates scripture and kingdom truths in a creative narrative style that is full of both witty humor and profound insights. This is a trip you’ll never forget! … More A Weekend at the Father’s Cabin
Pastors & Prophets, or Political Pundits?
June 9, 2020
My worst fear — and it is well-founded — is that the white church will continue to be influenced and shaped more by partisan political rhetoric than by the God-ordained, Biblically drenched, Jesus-centered pastors and prophetic Christian voices God has placed in our lives for such a time as this. … More Pastors & Prophets, or Political Pundits?
What Would Mister Rogers Do?
June 3, 2020
We’ve never needed Mr. Rogers-like leaders more than we do right now. … More What Would Mister Rogers Do?
Jiffy Lube, Coronavirus & the Spread of Christianity
March 3, 2020
Start talking about a pandemic and you’ll see the true color and substance of people’s faith. … More Jiffy Lube, Coronavirus & the Spread of Christianity
Americans Consume 11 Hours of Media Daily
December 12, 2019
The average church-goer hears 12 hours of sermons ALL YEAR. Now, who’s discipling who? … More Americans Consume 11 Hours of Media Daily
Journeys Through Bookland
November 30, 2019
As a father, I have wanted to surround my kids not just with books, but the allure of a library that beckons them to a grand adventure. When my kids walk into my study, I want them to feel like the Pevensy children walking into the Professor’s study in The Chronicles of Narnia. … More Journeys Through Bookland
Job’s Digital Footprint
November 6, 2019
On Facebook and Instagram, we’re voluntarily inscribing the details of our lives in a book for the whole world to read. We’re leaving digital footprints in the social media sand that will someday, when we’re gone, reveal a lot about who we were and the kind of life we led. … More Job’s Digital Footprint
Pilgrimage of the Soul
August 28, 2019
“What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for?” (Mark 8:36 MSG) We are pulling up the anchor and setting sail on a new adventure at MainStreet this Fall. To shift to a more earthy metaphor, we are putting on … More Pilgrimage of the Soul
Stamped & Sealed with a New Name
August 21, 2019
Last night I sat by my boys’ bedside and after tucking them in I said, “Let’s start something new and special called, “God Talk.” I told them I spend much of my life thinking, studying and learning about God, and I would love to ponder questions they have about God, life and the mysteries of … More Stamped & Sealed with a New Name
Childhood Wounds
August 20, 2019
LECTIONARY REFLECTION | Luke 13:10-17; Psalm 71:1-6 “Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, … More Childhood Wounds
The Space for Growth (Skye Jethani)
June 25, 2019
by Skye Jethani Jean Vanier, the founder of the L’Arche communities who died just a few weeks ago, often used a simple metaphor to explain his ministry with the mentally handicapped. With his hands cupped he would say, “Suppose I have a wounded bird in my hands. What would happen if I closed my hands … More The Space for Growth (Skye Jethani)
Fighting Demons (Mike Fox)
June 17, 2019
LECTIONARY REFLECTION | LUKE 8:26-39 In Western society the scientific method has been the standard for separating fact from fiction, truth from lie since the 1500s. For the last 500 years, anything that can’t be demonstrated in a controlled, repeatable experiment must not be true. Religion, faith, and belief in an unseen, spiritual world has been … More Fighting Demons (Mike Fox)
Happiness or Character?
June 11, 2019
I’m concerned about the strong river current of ideas we are swimming against and the polluted atmosphere created by the larger cultural narratives we are breathing in uncritically. … More Happiness or Character?
Plotting Revolution at Jason’s House
June 7, 2019
“These men who are turning the world upside down have now come here, and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.” (Acts 17:6-7) I spent some years as a youth pastor in a larger established church running a big youth program … More Plotting Revolution at Jason’s House
Our Global Speech Impediment
June 4, 2019
PENTECOST REFLECTION | Gen. 11:1-9; Acts 2:1-21 Can you imagine Facebook or Twitter without disagreement or conflicting viewpoints? Can you imagine a world without political division? Can you imagine a world united by one language and motivated by one grand purpose? We live in a cultural moment of unprecedented division. Some have said our nation … More Our Global Speech Impediment
Call Me Prof!
June 3, 2019
The most formative influences in my life, after my parents, have been my professors. My life’s trajectory changed 20 years ago after sitting in Professor Holmes’ Life & Teachings of Paul class and Professor Eddy’s Historical Jesus class in college. My view of reality and the Christian faith was revolutionized by a paper I wrote for Professor Scourgie’s Intro to … More Call Me Prof!
A Bigger Salvation Story
May 28, 2019
ASCENSION SUNDAY | Luke 24:44-53 One of the difficulties we have in reading and understanding the Bible is that we often unintentionally plug individual passages and key concepts into a controlling story that is foreign to the Bible. This results in making the Bible answer questions it was never interested in addressing. For example, many … More A Bigger Salvation Story
The Best Birthday Gift is Live Music!
May 23, 2019
My amazing wife is giving me the greatest gift I can think of for my 40th birthday: the chance to share the beauty and joy of dancing and swaying, eating and drinking, together with family and friends to the live music of one of my favorite bands. (And my favorite part will be watching my mom … More The Best Birthday Gift is Live Music!
Are You Open?
May 21, 2019
LECTIONARY REFLECTION | Acts 16:9-15; John 14:23-29; 5:1-9 Most of us have seen Warren Sallman’s famous painting Christ at Heart’s Door based on Revelation 3:20 where Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.” Jesus glows with the light of fresh hope while the dark thorns and thistles of sin threaten to overtake … More Are You Open?
Peter Bjorn: Shining Like a Star (and van Gogh)
May 16, 2019
“And a child shall lead them.” Isaiah 11:6 Our 7-year old, Peter Bjorn, made this precious cityscape that really caught my eye. It reminds me of a passage from Philippians. Followers of Jesus are called to cultivate a countercultural way of life that sets us apart from “a world of corrupt and sinful people.” Paul calls … More Peter Bjorn: Shining Like a Star (and van Gogh)
Faces Downcast to Eyes Opened
May 9, 2019
Sitting around that table the hidden face of God suddenly becomes visible. The stranger becomes a dear friend. The empty hole in our heart is suddenly filled. The darkness is vanquished by piercing light. Hope is resurrected to dance a jig on the corpse of Despair. At that table the lump in our throat is replaced by an irresistible burning in our heart. … More Faces Downcast to Eyes Opened
Jeremy Berg 