Nancy Gordon is a Covenant minister currently serving as director of California Lutheran Homes Center for Spirituality and Aging in Anaheim, California. Creating a story of hope in the face of dementia If asked to name what disease they fear […]
Features
Encouraging Presence
Often relegated to a minor role, Barnabas is arguably one of the most important figures in the early church. How many people could be effective, influential, and successful if only someone would give them encouragement, make space for them, and […]
Facing Challenges with an Open Door
Dan Collison is pastor of First Covenant Church in Minneapolis and author of Church in Translation (Abingdon Press, 2010). How a church rediscovered its mission by joining a city’s movement to end homelessness. First Covenant, Minneapolis, used to be a […]
Waking Up to the Resurrection
Renee Franzen is associate pastor of formation and discipleship at Brookdale Covenant Church in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. She is also a spiritual director and psychotherapist. Our journey through Lent to Easter calls for more than imaginative role-playing. I am getting […]
Scars of Hospitality
Beyond a friendly greeting and an open door, Christ’s call to welcome others often involves a painful cost. In the summer of 2010 I quit my job. It was a good job with a fancy title and good benefits, but […]
A Time to Ponder Our False Selves
Lent’s invitation to take an honest look at who we are Advent the Apostle Peter asked a question that has been following me ever since. It wasn’t really a formal question with an official punctuation mark. It was a phrase […]
The Problem of Plugging In
David Swanson is pastor of New Community Covenant Church in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago. Reclaiming an old metaphor to face today’s challenges Your church has problems. So does mine. It takes little observation to know this is true; a […]
There’s No App for That
James Amadon is pastor of Highland Covenant Church in Bellevue, Washington. Uncovering the fallacy of efficient ministry Last year, having been hooked by the marketing geniuses, I found myself infatuated with one of the new touch-screen tablet computers that was […]
Moving Beyond a Sentimental Peace
Steve Norman is the lead pastor of the Troy, Michigan, campus of Kensington Church an independent congregation. He blogs at stevenorman.org. What does it mean to take the angels’ Christmas proclamation seriously? I’m not a huge fan of Christmas cards. […]
Facing the Christmas Confusion
Bob Anderson is senior pastor of Redeemer Covenant Church in Orangevale, California. What happens when God’s miracle breaks through our expectations? The great American preacher Howard Thurman once said, “Christmas is a mood, a quality, a symbol. It is never […]
The Divine Work of Wasting Time
Steve Wong is pastor of Grace Community Covenant Church in Los Altos, California. Reflections on reorganizing the way we live together I think my daughter’s hamster just died. Actually, it may have died a couple of days ago, but no […]
The Vista Sisters’ Fruitful Mission
In retirement, two sisters were looking for a way to connect to their community. They discovered a way to make a difference in the world. Bleak. That was the word that sprang to mind for twenty-six-year-old Virginnia Swenson when she […]