disciple – Page 12 – 300 words a day

disciple – bumper stickers and preschoolers

A disciple is a follower. That part is simple. A disciple of Jesus would be a follower of Jesus. That’s pretty simple, too. Except for the challenge of following someone who is invisible. And someone whose name has been used pretty freely to endorse all kinds of products and projects and programs. When Jesus was […]

by Jon Swanson

disciple 2012

It’s tough to know how to feel about the start of a new year. We’re somewhere between “It’s a completely fresh start” and “it’s just another day.” But it does give us a chance — at least symbolically– to understand that it is possible to start fresh, to have forgiveness, to make new choices. To […]

by Jon Swanson

A disciple, simply

Okay. Can we talk for a bit? I’m out of practice with writing, so it will take me awhile to find my flow again. But I’m working on a sermon for Sunday and I’m sifting through my heart and brain (and all the tons of debris that live there), gathering fragments for a simple, useful, helpful, […]

by Jon Swanson

Sometimes I don’t

Creeds start with “I believe.” Sometimes they start with “We believe.” Never with “You believe.” I mention creeds because I decided to spend November looking at an early form of the Apostles Creed, one from sometime before 341. I didn’t grow up with a creed. When we visited my grandparents, we read the Apostles Creed. […]

by Jon Swanson

while i’m away.

I was speaking at a conference about what I do. I said that my passion is helping people emotionally understand the truth of God’s work. I decided to see whether I could illustrate what I meant. So I said, Some of you are bosses. Some are parents. Some are spouses or coworkers. Many of you, […]