Relational Missions: Participating in the Communion of Saints

It has always been my experience that, whenever I stand in El Mozote, I am standing among the children who were massacred there. I feel them calling me to speak out against violence; to ensure that—as the plaque there says—El Mozote, Nunca mas! (never again!). I feel accountable to those children, whose names and ages [...]

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Conforming our lives to do God’s will

I need your help!
I’m preaching this Sunday. The central theme I’m working with is “No one can encounter God and expect to resume life unchanged.”
Then this morning, the devotions I use directed my attention to Acts 21:
A prophet named Agabus…took Paul’s belt, bound his own feet and hands with it, and said, “Thus says the [...]

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Relational Mission: The Challenge of Water, pt.2

Throughout El Salvador there are skeletal remains of a water project that was once carried out by the government. I don’t know much about it, but it was called the ANDA project, and every now and then one can find a pipe or an old pumping station with ANDA still visible on it. For the [...]

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Relational Mission: The Challenge of Water, pt.1

Our sister-parish relationship between Heartland Presbyterian Church and the community of El Tablon is a profound example of relation-centered missions, which means that it is the source of great joy, great frustration, and change. Water is a great example. When Heartland first voted to step into a long-term relationship with El Tablon, one of the [...]

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The Right Question

I’m teaching a 7th & 8th grade confirmation lesson on the topic of “worship”.  I find myself in a precarious situation, as a non-rostered and unordained person.  Fortunately for the kids, a real pastor is teaching the other three lessons in the worship unit.  In advance of our class time tonight, I asked the kids [...]

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Why are pastors often isolated?

I had lunch with a pastor the other day. I know this pastor, but not really well. Over lunch we got into an interesting conversation about how isolated pastors often are.
This particular pastor expressed significant disappointment about the lack of support that this pastor had received from colleagues. This pastor wondered (with some bitterness) what [...]

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Lessons from a coffee house

Since I no longer have numerous Holy Week services to prepare for, I found myself in a neighborhood coffee house on the morning of Maundy Thursday. I wasn’t goofing off, mind you; I was just using this coffee house as my office for part of the morning. While I was there I posted the following [...]

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Relational Missions: Tears in the Marketplace

Whenever a group from Heartland Church goes to El Salvador, we visit a woman named Haydee, whose name I am not sure how to spell. I’ve seen it written in several ways and I’m going with Haydee, because that’s how I saw it first, but it’s pronounced “Hi Day.” We have a special relationship with [...]

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