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Even before COVID-19, the Christian church has been living during In Between Times. The uncertainty of our present days adds new dimensions to that divide.

For those whose idea of the church springs from experiencing the church of the 1950’s through early 1980’s, church is a communal experience.  The church building was the heart of that experience.  Being together was central to that expression of the church.  We came together to listen to sermons, to be educated and to do projects. It was a highly passive experience of church.  We showed up and church happened. It was a shoulder-to-shoulder experience, physically present for each other.

I grew up in a town of 1,200 people and belonged to a congregation with 1,000 members.  In addition to the public school system, the church defined our community because most of us gathered there, heard the same... read more

It is impossible to connect to any media today without being bombarded by questions. It is just what happens when the world is turned upside down for this long.

“When can we expect the crisis to be over?” “When can return to work?” Can we return to work?” “How long will it take the economy to recover?” “Will this pandemic boomerang in some mutated form?” “How did we not see this coming?”

Church leaders ask their own versions: “When can we return to ‘ministry as usual’?” “How has this crisis impacted the church?” “Will we come back weaker or stronger?” “How can we be better prepared to survive the next round?”

Look again. These are slight variations medical questions which, given the church is an organism, seems appropriate. I certainly have no medical agree — and I appreciate that pundits are a dime a dozen these days — but as... read more

Maybe the best response to the current reality is, "Lord have mercy".

This video was created to express that lament and that hope.

“Stress is not the enemy in our lives. Paradoxically, it is the key to growth.”

In his book, “The Power of Story,” Jim Loehr suggests that most of us live out of the story that is most central to us, and that curiously that story is oftentimes false. “Oh, you bet, my health and my family are most important to me,” all the while ignoring a current reality of high blood pressure, poor diet, too many hours working and little positive energies for spouse and children. Let’s just say there are far too frequently unexamined gaps or inconsistencies that exist.

Loehr suggests that only a truthful reckoning with “our actual story,” and then making necessary amendments to it, will lead to a life of greater vitality, satisfaction and engagement. Stress... read more