Several times a week I am asked to pray for people, and several times a week I let people know I am praying for them. But what am I actually doing? What is happening? First let me suggest what I don’t think is happening. I am not trying to get the attention...
What do United Pursuit, Florence & the Machine, Mumford & Sons, Van Morrison, Tim McGraw, Bruce Springsteen, Harry Styles, and David Crowder all have in common? Well, naturally, they all have a song on our Fruit of the Spirit Playlist! Now, you might be quite...
Last Monday morning was my first day as the interim assistant coach at UNCG. I met more people than I can remember, visited facilities I can’t find on a map, and verified my legal work status with HR. I don’t have a parking pass yet. I parked at the UKIRK house on...
It was the summer before COVID (little did we know), and I gathered with some housemates and neighbors at the nearby Durham Bulls stadium. It was an early evening in July, and it was hot. Another housemate, Sam, joined us after he got off work – six or so hours of...
Over 10 years ago David Brooks wrote an amazing essay in the New York Times. While it was written for the good of our nation, his words of wisdom apply well to our life as a congregation. I am quoting him here not to suggest we lack these qualities. Rather, I am...
The Declaration of Independence is fascinating in its origins and formation, use outside the United States, and its perception by Americans. When we learn about the Declaration of Independence or hear about it in modern contexts, we only remember the first 300-some...
If we want a garden We’re gonna have to sow the seed Plant a little happiness Let the roots run deep If it’s love that we give Then it’s love that we reap If we want a garden We’re gonna have to sow the seed ~ Crowded Table by The Highwomen...
Friends, It is with great joy that I share with you that we will soon have full-time transitional leadership for congregational care. On Thursday of last week at a called Session meeting Newton Cowan was unanimously approved to fill this role. As many of you know,...
Both the Old and New Testament writers had a lot to say about labor. There are two basic attitudes about two distinct uses of the word labor in scripture. The first has to do with childbirth, or analogies about birthing. “As soon as Zion was in labor, she delivered...
I came across a piece written by Henri Nouwen recently in his Bread for the Journey devotional. He reflects on life, writing: “Mostly we have just enough light for the next step: what we have to do in the coming hour or the following day. The art of living is to...
