I remember several years ago when my kids convinced me to green up my life. They were learning about recycling in school and regularly chastising me that I didn’t recycle more. I had always been a bit of a “nature […]
Magazine
Hymns
Somebody once said the best book of theology many will ever read is a hymnal. That means some of the best theologians who have ever put pen to paper are hymn writers. We need a big worship vocabulary to worship […]
In the Fullness of Time
Every model of car I have ever owned is no longer being manufactured, including the seven-year-old vehicle I currently drive. Indeed, I got a good deal on it precisely because the automaker had already announced that model would no longer […]
Living with the Incarnation
David Beck is pastor of Sanctuary Covenant Church in Sacramento, California. How can we avoid the “Christmas miss” and authentically celebrate the birth of Jesus? Two mornings after Christmas I settled into my favorite chair, enjoying a cup of tea […]
The Things We Keep
Some friends of mine own a small storage facility. Every once in a while, they have a garage sale to dispose of the things people have left behind. Payments have stopped, phone calls aren’t returned – no trace of the […]
God’s Faithfulness in Taiwan
I just returned from Taiwan, where Curt Peterson (our executive minister of world mission) and I were among some 5,000 people gathered at the National University Gymnasium in Taipei to celebrate the fruit of sixty years of ministry. The story […]
Open to Call
Doug Wysockey-Johnson is a Covenant minister who serves as the executive director of Lumunos (formerly Faith at Work). He lives in Burlington, Vermont. For more information on Lumunos click here. Discerning God’s voice is for everyone, not just for pastors. […]
When Creation Stinks
We Christians love to sing about creation’s beauty, but sometimes nature can be strange. How to explain the platypus, which looks like it was made from spare parts, or the scary anglerfish, which “fishes” for its prey by dangling a […]
Faithful in Doing
Recently in this column I introduced the theme we are using extensively throughout the Covenant: found faithful. I believe it is the core desire we all share. At our best, each of us simply wants to be found faithful walking […]
The Art of Caring for Your New Pastor
Advice for churches in a time of transition Because I am a pastor in transition, I have been thinking about a sermon series I heard decades ago. At the time I was an associate pastor, and in the absence of […]
Who We Are When We Don’t Remember
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 […]
Making the Connection
A few months ago, some people clashed over statements the president of Chick-fil-A made about marriage. Regardless of the political fallout, the public briefly thought about the connection between what we eat and what we believe. I was ignorant of […]