Life In Greencastle

This past Sunday, we talked in worship a good deal about the value of having communal songs. My sermon focus was largely on how one of the ways we pass on our faith to our children is through the music that we sing, and after the sermon I invited the congregation to fill out a little card that had at the top the words "My Favorite Hymns". The response was overwhelming. Not that we needed to verify this, but you all - as most Christians do - care a lot about hymns. Indeed, we all have certain hymns that are meaningful to us. I was speaking with Jean Holley this morning, and she noted how she has a few lines from one of her favorite hymns posted on the inside of one of her kitchen cabinet doors. Every time she opens that door, she is reminded of how much this is God's world and how richly God's glory and goodness shines throughout all creation (can you guess the hymn?). Not surprisingly, the hymns that received the most votes were the ones that have long topped the...

This is a paper I wrote after reading Dietrich Bonhoeffer's book Life Together , which is a classic on Christian community. I invite you to consider my own thoughts as an invitation for you to also consider this question: what do you want to get from our church? And, just as importantly, what do you want to give to our church? Just about three years ago, I stood on the edge of a tremendous change – like being at the top of a strong wave before its peak descended. My wife and I had just had our first child. We were preparing to move from Pasadena to Owensboro, and I was about to enter full-time ministry for the first time as an ordained minister. I was full of idealism. Now three years older and the father of two children (and back in a place that once was my home), I am fresh with a new idealism. But, I am also deeply aware of reality. Interestingly, in this same three year span I read Bonhoeffer’s classic on community twice. Both times it was a valuable read. Th...