Last night, I attended a community discussion on racial issues prompted by the murder of George Floyd and last weekend’s demonstrations. The crowd was large in size and in whiteness. We had the privilege of listening to a few black neighbors talk courageously about how they feel right now, and what it’s like to be [...]
I've been quiet over here - it's summer, you know. But while I haven't been writing, I have been reading and listening and thinking. You know our ultimate dual-mandate: to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves? I've long considered this a three-pronged mission. For we are to love our neighbors as much as [...]
You walk into your living room and suddenly it hits you: Wait, this place is a mess! Was my house this dirty yesterday? What happened? Who lives here, a gaggle of vermin? Didn't I just clean... um... a couple days ago? Naturally, the next thought is: the last thing in the world I want to do right [...]
I met Mallory almost fifteen years ago, a Belmont communications major ten years after I was (there weren't many of us), full of energy and joy and laughter and spunk and beautiful words and big dreams and passionate worship. (Worshipping with her at Grace Center was the best.) She and a handful of others were Jay and mine's pride [...]
We all know the story of Job and his three friends who came to visit. These three men are generally disparaged for their tiring, all-knowing speeches explaining Job’s misfortunes. It’s true, they talked so much that they ran out of words. Despite their pompous speeches, you know what I think of them? I think they were [...]
Reading through the gospels recently, I've noticed something seemingly uncharacteristic about Jesus. He never came out and told His disciples, "I love you." It's true, go see! We think of Jesus as the ultimate expression of God's love, but the exacting Old Testament God was much more vocal in His expressions of everlasting love than earth-side Jesus ever was. It was not [...]
Church can be complicated. It's a place we go to feel at home, to find our place. Yet how many times have you walked into a gathering of the saints and felt foreign, invisible, a misfit, out of place? Oh my sisters, we can change this! For we need each other; in fact we were [...]
As I prepare to speak this Sunday, my nerves are running high. Again. Searching for reassurance and peace, I remember how God granted these elusive fruits three years ago, the first time I stood in front of the congregation for thirty soul-exposing minutes. This morning I am finding new peace as I remember what God did. [...]
One evening as I lingered in God’s presence during a worship gathering, looking to see what God was like and what He was doing, a scene began to fill my imagination. Something so beautiful and mysterious unfolded that I’ve kept it close for a long while. Could I share it with you now?
Rachel Norris 