300 words a day

“It was, of course, by our standards, a small house.” That’s what I wrote the other day, reflecting on the place where people packed around Jesus. I read those words again, getting ready to start writing this next piece. I was struck by the arrogance of my assumption of your standards of the size of […]

The man with the four friends. It’s the perfect story to tell in Sunday school. Bringing friends to Jesus is what I always taught about. Whatever it takes, get your friends to Jesus. Even if you have to rip the roof up. Scandalous damage. Perfect for five-year-olds. But that wasn’t what anyone in the house […]

A good word from Rich Dixon +++ The time is always right to do what is right. ~MLK + + + I didn’t pay much attention to Dr. King until I met him. Okay, I didn’t actually “meet” him. In 2012 Becky and I did a bike tour to raise funds for victims of human […]

A man with a contagious, chronic, and personal community destroying skin disease falls in front of Jesus and asks for healing. “If you are willing,” the man adds. It was a simple and understandable request. I’m guessing it happened more often that we have record of. Jesus is emotional. Depending on the translation you are […]

When I started working on Mark, I started reading Mark. I looked at the commentaries on my shelf (not many for Mark). I looked up what was available. Scrolling through Amazon, the one by Ben WItherington subtitled “A socio-rhetorical commentary” caught my attention. My academic roots are in rhetorical studies, looking at language and persuasion […]