I’ve been working on a writing project, and an unexpected theme has emerged. Fear. The book isn’t a memoir – not really – but it

On 9/11 last year I was living in the Hague, Netherlands and serving a congregation founded several decades ago by Reformed Church in America pastors.

On March 18, 2002, the sanctuary of the St. Michael Catholic Church was destroyed by fire. St. Michael is a Roman Catholic church in Wheaton,

Tell me, why do we send the ushers around with offering baskets during worship – when most members have already given electronically, either through automatic

“Regret,” says author Brené Brown, “is a tough but fair teacher.” The idea, she writes, is that regret gives us the opportunity to grow, to

I have new respect for interim pastors. More often, these days, they’re called transitional pastors, but whatever we call them, I now see in a

My first-ever sermon feedback came from my wife on a Saturday afternoon in Iowa City, Iowa. She was sitting in the living room of our

I retired a few years ago, said goodbye to my last congregation in Zürich, Switzerland, moved to Holland, Michigan, and started a new life. I