At my community group this past Sunday, I shared that I felt like so much of our time in isolation/social distancing has been spent in survival mode. We've had to adjust, adapt, and persevere through the hardships and stresses of this time. But I don't want to simply persevere. I don't want to simply endure; I want to thrive. The problem that I keep running into is that "...

Dear friends, While it may feel like we can't do anything during this strange season we're in, the above graphic is a good reminder that there's a lot we still can do and need to do. So, in line with Frank Wang's words in this week's church email, I want to look at some things from a different perspective in this letter. I want to view the coronavirus pandemic through th...

PastoralLetterfor a Distributed Church April 17, 2020 Dear friends, Since we're now five weeks into life in pandemic-land, Dr. Silvernail thought it would be a nice change of pace for me to put together this week's pastoral letter. This will be a bit different than the previous ones. I figured I would take this chance to share some of what I keep coming back to in ...

This week, we're back on schedule in The Gospel of Mark. We jumped around the last few weeks to have the right texts for Palm Sunday and Easter, but now we're back in Mark 9:14-29. If you remember, the last passage we studied in Mark 9 was The Transfiguration, which was a literal "mountaintop experience." But now the disciples have come down off the mountain, only to be me...

Pastoral Letter for a Distributed Church April 9, 2020 Dear friends, The above graphic is a good reminder of the season we're in. It's Thursday of Holy Week as I write this, and I don't know about you, but it doesn't feel like Holy Week. The reality of not being together seems to have sunk in a little more this week. We finished filming our Good Friday service this mo...

This week we're having multiple services for Holy Week. We'll start with a traditional Good Friday afternoon service that will look at "The Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross." It will be a shorter service consisting largely of Scripture readings and prayers. It will be followed by a Good Friday evening service, with further meditations on the "Seven Last Words" from ...

Pastoral Letter for a Distributed Church April 1, 2020 Dear friends, The above description of God is a good kick-off to our 30 Days of Prayer for the month of April. The PCA Committees and Agencies, as well as pastors and elders of the General Assembly, want to invite you to join them in 30 Days of Prayer for our churches, our nation, and the world. The last few weeks h...

This week we're back in The Gospel of Mark. As it's Palm Sunday, we're skipping over to the text on The Triumphal Entry, Mark 11:1-11. Every year on Palm Sunday, children enter our worship service with palm branches, delightfully waving to the congregation in celebration of Jesus's entry into Jerusalem. Obviously, we won't be able to do that in this year of social distanci...

Pastoral Letter for a Distributed Church March 26, 2020 Dear friends, The above watercolor hangs in our church office and it's a good reminder of the promises of God during our troubled times. This is the third pastoral letter of the coronavirus pandemic and I hope it finds you both healthy and safe. Well, we're all starting to get settled into the new routine, which,...

Back when we put together the schedule for Mark, this week was supposed to be a communion Sunday. Since Easter is in a few weeks, the plan for this week was to skip forward to the institution of the Lord's Supper in Mark 14. Then next week, we'll be looking at the Triumphal Entry on Palm Sunday, and then the Resurrection on Easter. After that, we'll return to our regularly...