300 words a day

It happens often. I’m talking with a friend or with a patient. They say, “I just want to hear from God.” I nod. I’ve heard God’s voice only once in my life that I can remember clearly. It had been a long week. I had worked on all kinds of pastoral stuff and then on […]

1. Recently, I heard again a thought question: “If your church disappeared, would your community miss it?” I’ve used that question myself in meetings. But I think I want to change it. “If your church disappeared, how would the community miss it? Would they miss you for the ways you want to be missed?” Would […]

I think incrementally. A step at a time. And I think inductively. Things make sense to me after a bunch of steps have happened. I see the pattern more than I decide what should happen. Which makes it strange that the word “monumental” came to mind just before I went to sleep the other night. […]

I was talking to a patient’s family. Her son talked about having faith but being analytical. He likes data. He likes information. His wife knew little about God but has faith. He described in detail what the doctor had said about the inside of his mom’s head. A fall had jostled it in ways that […]