My friend Samson [i] was a profoundly abused little boy, and in 2005, he came to us at Hope Community Church a strong but extremely angry young man. The love of Hope’s believers brought Samson to Jesus—but he landed in …
But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;they shall mount up with wings like eagles;they shall run and not be weary;they shall walk and not faint.Isaiah 40:31, ESV So much wisdom has already been shared about this, …
Read moreWhat It Means (and Doesn’t Mean) to “Wait On the Lord”
I’m nineteen years old, and I’m choking on my comfort. The very thing I thought would bring me freedom is tying me down tighter every day. I’ve chased comfort as though it’s the goal of my life. But every time …
I can remember my initial awakenings to God like they were yesterday. Born and raised in a Christian home, I lived most of my life with a general awareness of God. I would even say that I had a relationship …
It was my father’s eighty-fifth birthday. My brother and I arrived early and set up the tables and chairs. We worked efficiently. We tied a few balloons to a lamp post in front of the retirement community center and Presto! …
Read moreWhat I Learned About Transforming Grace When I Listened to My Shame
The church of Jesus Christ is meant to be the sacred community where every sin-generated wound can be touched by the love of the Healer—through the love of his brothers and sisters. But this healing won’t take place if we …
Read moreHow Do We Connect with One Another In a Way that Allows the Love of Jesus to Heal Us?
Without fail, Scripture describes our walk with God—abiding in Jesus’ love—as inseparably linked to passionate desperation. Should we be surprised, then, that over the years, so many enduring voices in the history of Christianity have spoken boldly of their desperate …
Saint Francis had a penchant for the glory of the world and God’s presence and movement within it. In a time of upheaval and change in the church, when spirituality had strayed from its dedication to the simplicity of the …
I want to grow in what the ancient men and women of faith often called “union with God”—that state of being where God is so present to and alive in us that it is difficult to know where God ends …
I met Matthew[i] in Bulgaria, when I sat across from him at my friend Audrey’s kitchen table on a Sunday afternoon. Between us was a glass casserole dish filled with banitsa, a savory pastry stuffed with mild white cheese. Audrey …