Godly Disruptions of a Predictable Routine
 
I had not penciled in several hours of snow shoveling on my weekly calendar. I had not expected to be searching the shelves in the garage, flashlight in hand, for that old backpacking stove after the power went out late Wednesday afternoon. I didn’t know that Faith Acts would be canceled. But neither had I expected a Tuesday afternoon invitation for an early Wednesday morning walk through snowy Langhorne and the wonderful conversation and prayer I’d share with the faithful friend who invited me. I hadn’t thought of Scrabble by candlelight the night the power went off, but Becky did and it was great (Becky won – she played her Q more shrewdly than I played my Z). I could not have imagined the beauty of the snowy landscape under bright blue skies yesterday and today. Continue reading →

The Toyota-izing of the Church
 
If you follow the news, you know that Toyota Motors has temporarily shut down all its U.S. manufacturing plants and is recalling nearly 5 million of its recently produced cars to fix a potential problem with a sticky gas pedal.  Like you take your foot off the accelerator, but the car keeps going.  If you own a recent model Toyota you may be wondering if your Camry or Corolla is safe to drive. Of course, the problem appears to be isolated and rare and the company seems to be doing the right things in being extra cautious.  Continue reading →

Not an Accidental American
 
Who knows what goes on in the editorial offices of the New York Times. A week ago David Brooks wrote a provocative column questioning some of our assumptions about how best to help Haiti in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake ten days ago. Then in today’s edition Nicholas Kristof answers, if not Brooks directly, then the many aid skeptics.  Continue reading →

A Risk-Filled Life
 
The day after the massive earthquake in Haiti I received word from a friend and colleague in Western Pennsylvania that two members of the church he serves as pastor were among those unaccounted for in the aftermath of the destruction. The American church members, a doctor and his wife on a trip to visit a mission project supported by the church, had arrived in Port au Prince just hours before quake and there had been no news of them since. By yesterday the names of the two Pennsylvanians were on a list of foreigners who were safe, but not able to communicated with the outside world.  Thank God for his tender mercies. Continue reading →

Take That, Rick Warren
 
You may have seen the news story earlier in the week about how Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church was short a bunch of money at the end of the year and how Warren appealed to the congregation to make up the shortfall. They needed something like $900,000 and the appeal ended up generating more than $2.4 million.  Here’s the story, and I say good for them. 
 
But I do take issue with a comment Warren made about the whole thing. According to the L.A. Times story, Warren said, “I say without fear of contradiction that I don’t know of a more generous church.”
 
Apparently Rick Warren does not know of Langhorne Presbyterian Church.  Continue reading →