Learning
Growth
Unity
Being a Church Lab Rat
If you’ve made it to 9am Sunday School this summer, you may have noticed some new teachers leading the class. In fact, over the course of 14 weeks, there are nine different men taking us through the gospel of Mark. How in the world did we find nine guys to willingly subject themselves to this torture?
Just to Be Alive
The plans for a two-week bike and barge tour out of Amsterdam were set in place last fall. Winding through the Netherlands’ scenic geography. Windmills. Castles. Quaint coffee shops with delightful pastries.
To Be Holy
In my various Bible reading plans, one verse has stood out to me recently: Hebrews 12:14.
In the 2011 NIV translation, it reads:
“Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.”
How Stubborn Are You?
Dan and I took a 6-week road trip through Canada and up into Alaska a couple years ago. Near one of our campsites on a beautiful bay surrounded by blue mountains, we came across this baby tree growing out of an old stump.
Are You a Lucy Lister or a Pie Guy? Thinking Through Priorities in the Christian Life
I’m the last person that should talk about priorities and time management. But I’d like to get you thinking about how we should look at using our time.
Maybe you’re a Lucy Lister. You see priorities in your Christian life as a descending list of relationship tasks. Here’s a simple one I remember as a young Christian:
God May Ask You to Move Forward Without Seeing
Sometimes, living a life faithful to Christ in what he sets before us can leave us desiring to see more from him. It can seem he is asking us to obey his promptings blindfolded. We often just need to pause and listen, and then be faithful to do something. These experiences were modeled in the great outdoors by 11 students, including myself, in Colorado.
Drenched in Peach Juice and the Holy Spirit
Unless you've been living on a life raft without Wi-Fi in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with dolphins and octopuses for the last decade, you've probably heard the headlines telling us how teenagers today are lonelier, sadder, and more anxious than ever before.
Rounding Third and Heading for Home
Recently talking with a fine older friend, he commented that he experiences a growing sense of anticipation the more he ages. In his 80s, he sees his body declining, his energy waning and his mental acuity fading just a bit. Rather than rage against the setting sun of his vitality, he says he finds himself getting more excited about the prospect of what’s next.
Teenagers Are Like Fireworks
Let’s talk about teenagers. My youngest son Joseph morphs into one next week, and because God has a sense of humor, I will be the parent of four of them for the next four months. Do you know how many teenagers it takes to change a light bulb? Just one—they just have to hold on to the bulb and the world revolves around them.
When You Need a Father
In case you slept through the weekend just finished, last Sunday was Father’s Day.
On behalf of all the dads out there, thanks for the thoughts and tributes, even though most all will agree that our families are the best gift we could ever receive. Still, it’s nice to be noticed.
Bottom-Shelf Truths
After OSU, I worked as a college intern at NWHills Church in Corvallis for three years. Commuting to Portland for seminary part time, holding down a job in a steak house and doing ministry at the church made for a full life. But being young and full of fuel we ran with our hair on fire and thought nothing of it.
Hiding in Plain Sight
Last week I sold a bike on Marketplace.
After a few days with little interest, I lowered the price a bit and started to get action. A guy I’ll call Jeff was the only one who messaged me and asked to come see it, so we set a time that afternoon.
What If We Missed God While Waiting for Him?
Every once in a while, something re-reminds me to be grateful, to sit up and pay attention. This time the reminder came from Ann Patchett’s book Run, a fiction.
One of the side characters, Father Sullivan, sat in an armchair toward the end of his life, looking out the window at the falling snow, pondering:
God’s Questions: On Choice
The last two weeks we looked at two questions God asked among the hundreds posed in the bible. And in each we discovered the point was for revelation rather than God needing information.
Adam and Eve got exposed to their leaving home and choosing independence when God asked Where are you?
Confronting the Me-Monster: A Review of WAIT, Where Am I in This?
My favorite comedian, Brian Regan, has a bit about the “Me-Monster”, where he makes fun of people who are always trying to turn the focus of conversations onto themselves. Did you have a rough day? The Me-Monster had a worse day. Did you recently go on vacation? The Me-Monster went somewhere even more exotic. And so on. Nobody likes a Me-Monster.
God’s Questions: On Identity
Last week I wondered about God asking questions and mused that since he is omniscient, his asking has nothing to do with information and everything to do with revelation.
Every question God asks prompts listeners to understand a bit more of who he is, and who we are, and who we are in light of him.
I Am Among You as One Who Serves
I’ve mentioned before in previous Forge articles that my father, Clifford Coughlin, died suddenly of a heart attack on November 2, 1956, just before my third birthday. I related how life changing that event was in that not having a father growing up, affected my view of God as my heavenly Father.
God’s Questions: On Relationship
Ours is a God who asks questions.
And when you pause long enough to think about that, it seems strange that he does. After all, he’s God. To get even a human-sized understanding of who he is we take concepts we know and slap “omni” in front of the term.
Connection Doesn’t Happen On its Own
When I served as cancer survivorship coordinator at the St. Charles Cancer Center, there were a number of amazing volunteers who helped us manage some really great programs that benefitted our patients and their families.
The Anguish Of Twins
Recently, we celebrated the passing of Joy McSpadden. We have attended several services of late for dear friends who have gone on to glory.