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Sometime between the last slice of pumpkin pie and the long drive home, the world finally, fully shifts. Thanksgiving ends, December presses close, and suddenly we find ourselves standing on the doorstep of Advent again. As you read this, our church is preparing to go through the same transition many of us are making at home. Fall colors are being boxed up. Greens, ribbons, Chrismons, angels, candles, and the first hints of Christmas light are appearing. Volunteers (the unsung saints of the season!) are transforming our space so that when we walk in on Sunday, it feels like the promise of Advent has already begunRead More →

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I want to share something that’s been taking shape in the background at church. A small team of leaders has formed a Church Safety Task Force to take a fresh, comprehensive look at how we keep our congregation safe. This group is focusing on four key areas: medical emergencies, severe weather, fire, and threats of violence. Over the years, we’ve written safety plans, filed them away neatly, and hoped we’d never need them. But plans aren’t helpful unless we know them, practice them, and keep them fresh. I know it can be uncomfortable to talk about these things. None of us like imagining worst-case scenariosRead More →

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Every November 11, our nation pauses to honor those who have served in uniform. Veterans Day is one of those rare civic holidays that seems to belong to all of us. Whatever our background or beliefs, we know what it means to say thank you and we seek to mean it.  For some of us, Veterans Day brings faces to mind: a grandparent or parnet, sibling, neighbor, or friend. For others, it carries memories of deployment, sacrifice, or grief. The stories vary, but the gratitude is shared. I think that’s part of what makes this day set apart in its own way it invites usRead More →

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It sounds dramatic, doesn’t it?  “I’ve been given an ultimatum.”  But really, it’s more of an invitation from our Trustees. The carpet in the parsonage has reached the end of its useful life. Recently we discovered beautiful hardwood floors hiding underneath. Instead of replacing the carpet, we’ve opted to refinish the floors.  There’s only one catch: it’s hard to live in a house when your bedrooms and bathrooms are off-limits for several days. So, the Trustees have issued their “ultimatum” that we have to go somewhere for a few weeks. They didn’t have to twist my arm at all.  As I stared at that wornRead More →

An Ice agent holding a toddler

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Something about this photo stopped me. It wasn’t the tactical gear or the government patch. It wasn’t even the tension behind the camera: federal officers in Chicago, a raid unfolding, people watching in fear or confusion. It was this moment. An officer, in full gear, holding a small child.  The photographer, Derek Nielsen, isn’t a journalist. He’s a nature and conservation photographer who happened to capture this scene while documenting his city. No political agenda, no press badge, just a person with a camera, using his gift to bear witness.  Among Derek’s images that day were officers with helmets, batons, and covered faces. Some looked hardened,Read More →

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Over the weekend I heard a short clip from a recent sermon by Adam Hamilton. I’m glad I was sitting down, because the questions he quoted hit me hard and they’ve been haunting me since. Hamilton credited conservative pastor Joe Carter, who wrote them back in 2020. In the clip I saw, here are the two questions that hit me: At first I thought, Bingo! That’s it. That’s what’s happening across our society, left and right. We’re trading a living faith for a political identity. I can name folks on both sides who would answer “yes” to those two questions without even blinking. But theRead More →

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Last Saturday I was driving east on Route 38 between DeKalb and Geneva when I saw them coming the other way. A big, black, unmarked SWAT-like vehicle followed by a few unmarked cars. Men in tactical gear with familiar gator coverings around their necks. It wasn’t a chase; they weren’t in a hurry. Just commuting. But I knew immediately who they were: ICE.  The sight jolted me back to 2018. Back then, I was sitting outside a Rochelle elementary school, watching oddly parked unmarked cars, wondering if I was about to see a raid as buses unloaded children. My stomach was tight. I ran throughRead More →

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One of the habits that shapes me is starting each day with Scripture. My first 7–12 minutes after waking are spent with an app that offers a short opening prayer, a prayer of confession, two Scripture readings, the Lord’s Prayer, and a blessing for the day. It’s not Bible study or sermon prep. It’s what I do for my own spiritual practice. Bleary-eyed, I simply read it, pray it, let it pass through me. It’s part of my routine as I move on to a workout, then cup of coffee and the day’s tasks. But sometimes a verse lingers. Sometimes the Holy Spirit won’t letRead More →

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Coming home from my worship planning retreat, I find myself reflective. It happens every year I drive. After 5 days in the mountains, praying and planning, then driving 1000 miles home. It leaves me both tired and full. Tired because the work is intense. Full because God is faithful. And it leaves me plenty of room to think. As I returned this year, after pondering the whole drive home, there were a few prominent thoughts that came to mind, notably three things of which I’m especially proud. These aren’t the only things worth celebrating, but they are three reminders of how God is moving amongRead More →

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As you read this, I’m in my final few days of preparation for my annual worship planning retreat in the Wet Mountain Valley of Colorado. At 8,000 feet in an international dark sky community, the air is thinner, the stars are brighter, and the cell signal is thankfully scant for miles. It’s the same location, the same rhythm, and the same prayer request I’ve made 5 times now: that God would meet me here in this thin space and guide our church’s path for the year ahead. I’ll be away from Wednesday, August 27, through Tuesday night, September 3, taking a few days afterward toRead More →