The Rambling Disciple

Earlier today I stood in line at an office of the Texas Department of Public Safety to get a Texas driver's license. This particular office is actually a converted grocery store that they have turned into a facility that specifically deals with driver's licenses and the like. Unfortunately, while there I discovered that the birth certificate that I had was actually a copy and only the original would do.  Let's just say that I was incredibly annoyed by this. I had scheduled the appointment a week in advance, had gathered up all sorts of documents to prove my identity, I showed up early just like one is supposed to, and I find out that because one document isn't right I can't go ahead and take care of things. It was frustrating and a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy because I always dread dealing with government bureaucracy.  After I got home and stewed for a bit I realized that it wasn't that big of a deal. After all, I can just go to the courthouse and get anoth...

One could argue that idolatry is the root of all sin. The very act of placing something above God, even if that thing is very good and created by God, fundamentally disrupts the created order and causes harm. The worship of other gods is the first of the Ten Commandments for a reason as it is the foundation of the other.  In many ways I think that the ancient world was far smarter than we are. They looked at all the different aspects of life and assigned gods and goddesses to them for worship. They knew, while we often deny, that they were worshipping things like sex, money, power, violence, and so on. So, they named the deities and erected temples and altars in their honor. There was no pretense that they were doing anything different. We are just as idolatrous and pagan as the Romans, Canaanites, and Egyptians ever were. The big difference is that we refuse to acknowledge it. As a society in general we like to avoid "religious" trappings anywhere we find them. This is true ...

  This is the written version of my final sermon at the Church of Christ Northwest, preached on my last Sunday as youth minister there. It is formatted like a letter, specifically a New Testament letter.      To the Church of Christ Northwest in Peoria, Illinois, peace be upon you all. May our glorious God and Father pour out mercies unnumbered in your midst, may our Lord Christ Jesus’s faithfulness never leave you, and may the Holy Spirit’s presence flood your hearts and lives. May you continue to seek out the Triune God with fervor and love as you bring about the establishment of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.        I would encourage you, my brothers and sisters, on this final day of fellowship. While I rest assured that the bonds that tie us together are woven through eternity, as the One who has bound us together is eternal, and that I will see many of you again in this current age, now comes the end of a particular season. I sincerely pray to ...

A key motif throughout scripture is that of the wilderness. The Israelites, once freed from Egypt, head into the wilderness towards Sinai. When they refuse to trust in the faithfulness of God and believe in the bad reports of the unfaithful spies, they are led once again into the wilderness. David hides from Saul in the wilderness. In the prophets God often speaks of bringing his people back into the wilderness. Jesus goes into the wilderness immediately after his baptism. The church is described at times of being in the wilderness. At first glance the wilderness may seem like a bad place. There are no cities, no civilizations, and no resources. Everything out there from the wildlife to the weather is trying to kill you. If you go out alone you will not survive. Strangely, the Bible often talks of the wilderness fondly. In the prophets God yearns for the days when Israel wandered in the wilderness. For David and Elijah it is a place of safety from their enemies and in the time of the N...

Something I think we often neglect is having an ideal to strive towards. We get wrapped up in the very real limitations, problems, and troubles of our world and adopt a very pragmatic attitude towards life. We focus on what we can do and how to simply keep things from getting worse. We then often dismiss those who put forward an ideal as idealists or naïve. There is nothing wrong with being pragmatic. We need to be aware of the gifts God has given us and the resources we have been blessed with. We need to be humble enough to realize that we cannot do everything we want and can do nothing perfectly. It is good to realize that unbridled idealism is unrealistic and ultimately disappointing. However, pure pragmatism simply keeps one afloat. Without an ideal to strive towards, a standard to reach for, we don't grow. If there is no vision or goal we tend to be aimless. As Christians we are called both to be realistic in our dealings with the world and to strive for the ideal that is Chri...

"Non Nisse Te Domine." - Thomas Aquinas I have the above quote engraved on the bottom of a watch that my father gave me several years ago. It means "Nothing if not you, Lord." Thomas Aquinas, 13th century monk and one of the most influential theologians and philosophers in all of history, said this after having a vision of Jesus. Reportedly Christ appeared to him and said "You have written well of me, Thomas. What what you have as a reward?" "Non nisse te Domine," was the response. After that, even though Thomas had dedicated his life to writing theology and was in the middle of writing his massive Summa Theologia, Thomas stopped writing. He said it was because all he had written, tomes and tomes of brilliant work, were as straw compared to seeing the actual Lord. Whatever you may think about such a mystical event, I personally believe it happened but I understand the more skeptical among us, the response of Thomas is what matters. When asked for...

I was born and raised in the Churches of Christ. I went to college at a Church of Christ university. For the past seven years I have served as a minister at a Church of Christ. I know the lingo, the disputes, the divides, and the tendencies of this tradition extremely well. I have been inexorably shaped by this tradition in so many ways it is probably impossible to accurately quantify.  As we all have been in one form or another, I've been on a years long journey of reevaluating my faith and inheritance. Where am I now is quite different than where I was seven years ago when I first moved to Peoria. There are many areas where I no longer agree with what I grew up with and what is considered typical Church of Christ teaching. There are also many areas where I hold more strongly to what I grew up with, though the reasons are most likely completely different.  Overall I am far more orthodox than I was. I am more deeply rooted in the faith of the early Christians. I am more firmly...