Presby-Musings

In his book Blue Like Jazz , Donald Miller relates a moment when he and some Christian friends conducted an experiment on their college campus in Portland, Oregon.  They set up a confessional/photo booth at a Renaissance fair, dressed as monks and invited people inside.  But when the curious would step into the booth they soon discovered it wasn't there as an opportunity for them to confess their  sins, it was an opportunity for Donald and his friend to confess all the ways that Christians and the Church had let people down, wounded others, ostracized various groups, or otherwise alienated people from the Gospel, rather than drawing them to it.   The results were amazing.  Tony Kriz, one of the participants in the experiment later wrote this about it:  Over the weekend dozens of students slipped in and then out of our booth, each surprised and expectant. Some stayed for just a photo 1-2 few minutes. Most lingered as long as half an hour. Without ex...

This week the inspiration for our Daily Devotions will be drawn from the sermon that I preached this past Sunday for All Saints' Day--a sermon on grief, loss, hope, life, heaven, Heaven and resurrection. If you would like to read the transcript of that sermon, you can click HERE .  The Scripture that we used as our guide was John chapter 11--the story of Jesus raising of Lazarus from the dead.   In his best-selling novel  The Five People You Meet In Heaven , author Mitch Albom paints a beautiful portrait of the mission of heaven itself--as a place where we are given the gift of clarity.  In heaven (or more accurately paradise), according to Albom's story, the whole of our lives suddenly makes sense.  We get the chance to see how all of the dots connect.   Eddie, the main character in the novel, has just died and enters paradise where he is met by the first of the five people he must speak to--a character known as The Blue Man.  Albom writes:...