For those of you who may be leading musical worship in some context… A while back, I wrote about “Knowing Your Core”: knowing how you would essentially describe the Gospel. (If you haven’t taken the time to write down your core, I’d encourage you to take a few minutes and do this). It’s not enough … Continue reading
When I was young, I was taught that Jesus’ miracles offered proof of his divinity: after all, who else but the son of God could turn water into wine, heal people, or feed thousands (much less bring someone back to life)? This is absolutely true; God was working supernaturally through Jesus and his ministry, restoring … Continue reading
I confess: I’m passionate about the Bible. Maybe it’s too reflective of my status as a (decidedly not young) grad student, but I am determined to see it taught well, and “used” accurately. I was talking to a friend the other day, and we were talking about how there can be a difference between the historical … Continue reading
I stumbled across this video this week. Though that instrument is undeniably weird (and cool), a couple ideas sprang into my mind. “Random” isn’t really random. The proprietors of the festival proclaim that the attenders had just witnessed a “random act of culture”, but it actually was only random for those who didn’t know that “art” was … Continue reading
We have too many maps. In general, maps do a great job of (a) telling you where you are, and (b) telling you where you need to go. Some of them even tell you the fastest route to get there. Maps are efficient and effective. But what maps can not do, almost by definition, is … Continue reading
Jonathan was born unable to hear. He was unable to hear the words of love from his parents. The comfort that they spoke, the songs that they would sing. No matter how they shouted, how they wept for him, how they sang him lullabies, he would not hear. His world was an ocean of silence. … Continue reading
As the 20th century drew to a close, a German scientist named Karlheinz Brandenburg was working on a logarithm that would help reduce the size of certain types of computer files; specifically music files. Eventually, he landed on a formula that helped him shrink the size of a standard music composition by about a factor of … Continue reading
I need to write more I need to write more I need to write more. What can happen in ten minutes? What can transfer from soul to screen? From brain to keyboard? Let’s see. I’m teaching in 5 days. Forty minutes on the 5th chapter of Mark’s gospel. (I write it this way, because I … Continue reading
