pastor || writer || speaker
Open unto me, light for my darknessOpen unto me, courage for my fearOpen unto me, hope for my despairOpen unto me, peace for my turmoilOpen unto me, joy for my sorrowOpen unto me, strength for my weaknessOpen unto me, wisdom for my confusionOpen unto me, forgiveness for my sinsOpen unto me, tenderness for my toughnessOpen …
Continue reading "Howard Thurman – “Lord, Lord, Open Unto Me”"
(A Prayer from God's Trombones) O Lord, we come this morningKnee-bowed and body-bentBefore Thy throne of grace.O Lord—this morning—Bow our hearts beneath our knees,And our knees in some lonesome valley.We come this morning—Like empty pitchers to a full fountain,With no merits of our own.O Lord—open up a window of heaven,And lean out far over the …
Continue reading "James Weldon Johnson – “Listen, Lord: A Prayer”"
An article I wrote during the past year was published this week at Preaching Today. It draws from one of my favorite novels of all time, Cormac McCarthy's The Road. If you know McCarthy's writing, you may know it is very rough around the edges. While The Road is also rough around the edges there …
Continue reading "Metaphors for Ministry: Hitting ‘The Road’ with Cormac McCarthy"
Eugene Peterson, in the midst of writing on four models of pastoral ministry, offers one he says he has always aimed to be like: the apocalyptic pastor. It is a wild phrase but a needful word for us today as pastors in the North American church. May we have ears to hear. American religion is …
Continue reading "Calling for Apocalyptic Pastors: a word from Eugene Peterson"
Here is John Calvin reflecting on Ephesians 1:3, which says, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ." This is part of the text I preached from this past weekend in my message, "A People Called by God." The …
Continue reading "Blessed with Every Spiritual Blessing: John Calvin on Ephesians 1:3"
Matthew Erickson 