Pastor Note #103: Loving Like Crazy Jesus Followers

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1 Q. What is your only comfort in life and in death? Photo by GAC A. That I am not my own, but belong—body and soul,in life and in death—to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood,and has set me free from the tyranny of the … Continue reading Pastor Note #103: Loving Like Crazy Jesus Followers

Quote of Note #108: Between the Humane and the Brutal

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Washington County (Pennsylvania) Courthouse; Photo by GAC "The real issue of our world today is between those who respect a man as a child of God and those who do not, between those who are humane and those who are brutal. It is not to be found between men who are for or against this … Continue reading Quote of Note #108: Between the Humane and the Brutal

Quote of Note #107: The Human Dignity of the Other

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Lancaster County (Pennsylvania) Courthouse; photo by GAC "There was a time when we could assume that people believed in the dignity of the human person, in the sanctity of a man as a child of God. This is no longer true. Communism tells us that a man has worth only if he is a communist. … Continue reading Quote of Note #107: The Human Dignity of the Other

Quote of Note #106: Forfeiting the Soul of a Nation

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A closed down steel mill near Pittsburgh, PA; photo by GAC "The psychological power of nationalism is lessened or at least checked by an ancient wisdom reminding us that a nation might gain a strong economy, everyday low prices, and all the homeland security in the world and still forfeit its soul." David Dark, The … Continue reading Quote of Note #106: Forfeiting the Soul of a Nation

Pastor Note #100: Evangelical Fear and the Turn Toward “Coercive Christianism”: An Essay  Part 1 of 3

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Evangelical Fear and the Turn Toward “Coercive Christianism”: An Essay  Part 1 of 3 Can Christianity in America survive without a strongman-protector?  Is the plight of Christianity in American such that it can only be preserved by the guardianship of a strongman-protector in government, particularly one who is not encumbered by scruples stemming from such … Continue reading Pastor Note #100: Evangelical Fear and the Turn Toward “Coercive Christianism”: An Essay  Part 1 of 3

Pastor Note #99: Following Jesus in a Time of Pandemic, Poisonous Politics, and Social Unrest

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In a recent e-mail to a friend, I described some of the challenges of church ministry in this time of pandemic, political divisiveness, and social unrest.  I told him, “During the past six months, pastoring a church feels like jumping out of an airplane and trying to sew your parachute as you fall.”  That experience … Continue reading Pastor Note #99: Following Jesus in a Time of Pandemic, Poisonous Politics, and Social Unrest

Quote of Note #105: Satan’s Well-Tailored Temptations

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"Satan loves to sail with the wind and to suit men's temptations to their conditions and inclination.  If they be in prosperity, he will tempt them to deny God (Prov. 30:9); it they be in adversity, he will tempt them to distrust God; if their knowledge be weak, he will tempt them to have low … Continue reading Quote of Note #105: Satan’s Well-Tailored Temptations

Quote of Note #104: God’s Response to Disasters

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Dutch Fork Lake in the fog; photo by GAC "After all, so often when people look out on the world and its disasters they wonder why God doesn't just march in and take over. Why, they ask, does he permit it? Why doesn't he send a thunderbolt (or perhaps something a little less like what … Continue reading Quote of Note #104: God’s Response to Disasters