Dear Partner in Preaching, As if often the case, context is everything in biblical interpretation. And the context of this passage – Thursday evening, the eve of Jesus’ crucifixion and departure from his disciples – matters because it helps set the scene for Jesus’ words of promise to his disciples tucked into a prayer he offers to his heavenly Father. There are three parts to this prayer and promise, each of which holds, I believe, import for our hearers today. 1) The world can be a difficult place. This perhaps doesn’t seem like much of a promise, or at least good news. But it’s the truth, and given how many voices in our...

Dear Partner in Preaching, Well, it was another thrilling match-up. All the players had prepared well, sparing no expense in terms of time and effort. The stakes were high; the competition was fierce; and the whole world watched…. And, no, I’m not talking about the Super Bowl, but rather the Super Bowl commercials! I have to admit, though, that as much as I found the Budweiser puppy endearing and the Katie Couric/Bryant Gumble BMW commercial clever, nothing really equaled the uplifting quality of last year’s Duracell commercial featuring Derrick Coleman of the Seattle Seahawks. Do you remember that one? At a young age, Derrick lost his...

Ken Robinson is one of my favorite speakers. His TED Talk on Education and Creativity is the all-time most watched TED Talks and worth seeing more than once. His book Finding Your Element: How to Discover Your Talents and Passions and Transform Your Life is a wonderful resource. If you don’t have time to read the whole book, you might watch this brief encapsulation and animation of its central idea: that we each have talents to contribute linked to our abilities and passions and the best hope for the world is that we cultivate the diversity of gifts we have rather than only valuing some. As he talks about this idea of cultivating an...

Judging by your comments (16) and emails (about double that amount) to the short piece I wrote on vocation last week, I’d say that we all, at the very least, want to feel called. And so I wanted to continue sharing some thoughts on vocation as well as continue inviting your conversation (especially in the comments so all can hear what you’re thinking). In this post, then, three observations I have about vocation in relation to the comments, emails, and dozens of conversations I’ve been privileged to have with folks over the years about their sense of calling. 1) No matter how hard we try, we still often tend to think of “calling”...