Life In Greencastle

Most of the time, it's the completely random things that end up being the biggest source of inspiration for me.  That explains why a customer comment on Amazon has been rocking my world this past week.  I was following up on a book called The Descent of the Dove , an old classic from a guy named Charles Williams one of C. S. Lewis' friends.  Williams' book is a quick tour thru the history of the Church, all the ups and downs, all the faithful servants and the misguided hearts.  But, tucked into the middle of a review was this simple reminder:  in all of the great controversies that have rocked the Church through the years, the truth has been found in the tension and complexity of the middle. Was Jesus fully human or fully divine? Is Jesus part of God the Father or separate? Is salvation something God does for us or something we do on our own? Is communion better served by distribution or by intinction? Okay, that last one was a joke ... sort of ... bec...

[Note:  Our Wednesday night journey into the Bible continues this week at 6 pm in our sanctuary for anyone who wants to join us.  We are entering into the book of Exodus this Wednesday] The Bible is a beautiful and powerful book and when it is translated and taught in a way we understand, it begins to shed light into our lives and give us hope.  The key, then, is to make sure we are doing a good job of translating it and making it accessible to you.  That is precisely what we are trying to do on Wednesday evenings, and I hope our time in Genesis has helped you see things a bit more clearly. Now, let me throw you a curveball.   Genesis is just a preface to what our Jewish tradition considers to be the most important part of their story and heritage.   Genesis just brings us to the doorstep of what really matters:  the exodus. The first 15 chapters of Exodus give us the bare necessities and foundation of our faith.  The events we hear desc...

God's peace to all of you on this beautiful  Saturday  afternoon.  I hope you are enjoying the warm sunshine.  Perhaps you are even still enjoying one last sunset at the beach. We stayed fairly close to home this Spring Break, taking two short trips, including one to Turkey Run State Park and the other to Columbus, Indiana.  Anna and I had been longing to go to Columbus for quite some time.  Back in the day, we became friends with Emily and Manish Desai in our small apartment complex in Pasadena, both of whom had recently graduated with degrees in architecture from Cal Poly.  Manish would go on to earn his license in architecture and has designed a number of really beautiful spaces, including private residences but also a church out in the desert for a Native American tribe.  Anna and I have always appreciated Manish and Emily's aesthetic, which is why we knew to take note when they started telling us about Columbus, Indaina a number of y...