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They did not know what he was talking about.

Sometimes I want to know what’s going to happen next. I worry about it. I identify options. I want God to simplify things and just tell me his plans and how they fit with mine. The twelve disciples may have thought the same things one day as they traveled with Jesus. They thought, perhaps, that […]

by Jon Swanson

Not Peter’s life. Not John’s life. Yours.

(The last in a series on choosing to learn. First published January 16, 2013) Jesus and Peter had just finished breakfast. Grilled fish and toast. There’s no textual evidence of coffee. (The story’s in John 21.) It was a somewhat awkward conversation. Jesus gave Peter three opportunities to affirm their relationship. It was probably to […]

by Paul Merrill

God might be calling

Jesus called his first followers in Matthew 4:18-22. Two guys were fishing. They left their nets and followed Jesus right away. The second two guys were also fishermen. They were in a boat with their dad repairing their nets. When Jesus called, “they immediately followed him…” They even left their dad sitting in the boat. […]

by Jon Swanson

Notes from my summer: spiritual formation

“Spiritual formation is a process of being conformed to the image of Christ for the sake of others.” Robert Mulholland, Jr. An Invitation to a Journey That’s how one of my textbooks from this summer defined “spiritual formation.” For those who don’t know, I audited “CHMN 516: Spiritual Formation” from Bethel College. It was a […]

by Jon Swanson

Football and baptism.

(First published February 24, 2011. I got to participate again the other night.) I don’t know whether or not you watch football on television. If you don’t, sometime you need to watch the very end of a football game. As the last few seconds disappear from the clock, watch the winning coach very closely. You […]