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Why Study Ecclesiastes: I’ve often been asked “why do you like Ecclesiastes?” Ecclesiastes has been known as a pessimistic and depressing book in fact most Christians I’ve met avoid this book like the plague. In our society, and unfortunately in the church, people tend to avoid anything that makes them uncomfortable particularly if what is being expressed could be seen as depressing. However we live in an age that is flooded with depression and people struggling with their place in the world today. People are disconnected from each other and disconnected with God in a way that would have been unbelievable to the author of Ecclesiastes. The first time I remember reading the book of Ecclesiastes was when I was in college. I had gotten back to my room from a long day at classes and was just starting to think about sitting down and studying when I got a phone call. My dad called me and informed me that aunt Roma had died that day. Aunt Roma wasn’t actually my aunt. I grew up in ...

Vincent Van Gogh was born in 1853 in the Netherlands. He was born into a middle class family, with parents and relatives in the ministry. Vincent himself was leaning toward going into the ministry. Between 1860-1880 Van Gogh decided to become an artist. His artistic career is defined by two broad categories which I will simplify by calling pre-Paris, and post-Paris. His pre-Paris stage artistically was defined by a decidedly Dutch style of painting, much in the same vein as Rembrandt. Post-Paris, Van Gogh was influenced and defined by impressionists painters. Subsequent from Paris, Van Gogh experienced deteriorating mental health which resulted in his suicide at the age of 37. All the works I could find, and had time to read on Van Gogh, reflected on the artistic influence of various artist on Van Gogh’s work, as well as his love life or lack thereof. There was also a minimal reflection on his familial relationship and its influence on his art. In all the works I referenced t...

Max* had been a church member for a long time as a member of the "greatest generation," he had fought in World War II in the air force. Max had shared with me many stories about his experience in B-29 Bombers, Bombers with the name and reputation of being a "Superfortress," though there was nothing fortress like about them. Max had lived a full eighty years, a full and plentiful eighty years. He had a loving wife, dutiful daughters, and wonderful grandchildren. He was a person in the church who, unlike the B-29 Bombers he talked about, was a fortress that enabled young and old to take comfort in the refuge of his faith and strength of his character. He was father, friend, and grandfather to more people than just his genetic family. Four weeks ago, I went to visit Max at home. Max had been experiencing declining health in the last six months. Due to the health issues, he hadn't been able to attend church to receive communion with the community for far too...

It's taken me some time to finally decide to share what went on in my Board of Ordained Ministries (BOM) interview back in February. I want to make something very clear first, there were valid concerns that BOM raised, and I have no doubt that many of the individuals in that committee do care about me and my ministry, yet in my opinion there are some other forces that were at work in the interview as well. There were a number of questions in the interview that, looking back, I deem to be unfair either in the way they were spoken or in the subsequent clarification for the question. One particular question that bothered me was intended to be theological in nature, but was asked as a ministry related question. For instance (this is not the question) if someone comes to you and confesses they are cheating on their wife, what do you do? In my answer would be, while I disagree with what the individual is doing, I would try to affirm that everyone makes mistakes and even when we make...

Well here is my update on the Barnes and Noble Nook. I will not be getting rid of it. I really do like it. The Pros - 1. The buttons are well place and not overly sensitive. I haven't had to many problems with random page flipping. 2. Its fairly easy to use and figure out. The buttons on the touch screen are fairly intuitive for what you want to do, you don't have to second guess. 3. It is very easy to get books, maybe even to easy :) Cons - 1. Google books - I thought this would be a really big plus, but while some of them are great its often hard to distinguish if the book is in English or not. I've gotten some french books that way. 2. You can't delete a book you can only archive it. The problem with this is I've gotten a couple of samples (which is another great feature) but I can't get rid of the sample, I've got to archive it to get it to disappear. Suggestions/helpful comments - 1. The touch screen takes some getting used to, its not as ...

One of the only traditions I've managed to keep on this blog is my yearly post of my reading amounts. This year I read, 11,779 pages, certainly not the most since I started keeping track in 2004 but overall not to bad of a year. That number averages out to 981.58 pgs per month, 245.39 per week, and 35.05 per day. One thing I noticed in this years list is that I can see the flow of where I've been reading this year much more noticeably. For instance at the beginning of the year I have several books marked as excellent such as "Not Your Parents Offering Plate" by J. Clif Christopher, and "Sticky Church" by Larry Osborne. Both are excellent books in their own right, but when I reflect on the year these two books were excellent particularly because they were dealing with issues I was and continue to work on in my church. I also noticed that my reading list is far less eclectic than all of the other years. This is something that has greatly concerned me, I...

Ecclesiastes 11:5 5 As you do not know what is the way of the wind, Or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child, So you do not know the works of God who makes everything. I love technology. I love getting the newest forms of technology (when I have the money), I even Love playing with new technology in stores if I can’t afford it. The thing about technology is it is almost always about controlling something. For example, a smart phone (which no, I don’t have one) is equipped with software to sync your colander, contacts, music, and email. A smart phone’s purpose is to help you control your calendar, as well as your various entertainments. Control is something we tend to try and exert over most areas in our lives, this verse from Ecclesiastes reminds us that ultimately we aren’t in control. I am not going to make the argument about how much God controls or even how much we as humans can know, but there is something to the idea of realizing that we can’t know, we c...