by admin on June 28, 2010
First published writing in Alive Now (1985) -- and the current Alive Now website
I’m thrilled to announce that I’ve been named Editor of Alive Now magazine. Alive Now is one of six devotional magazines published by The Upper Room. It happens to be the place that I started my ministry here back in 1986. January/February 2011 will be the first issue that I work on.
I’m looking forward to helping “unclutter hearts” all year ’round. Also, I’m excited to be able to take what I’ve learned in the internet world back to a print publication.
If you are a current reader, please take a few minutes to fill out a reader survey. I’m gathering information to help guide me in the coming months. Click here to take the survey. Whether or not you are a subscriber to Alive Now, I’d like to hear from you — What would you like to see in a devotional magazine?
I look forward to hearing from you!
by admin on September 28, 2009
Jesus -> That Way!
I saw a bunch of signs on my recent vacation in Colorado and it got me thinking about our ministry of hospitality. One particular sign pointing to Jesus caught my attention as I was driving from Raymond to Allenspark. About the third time I passed, I decided I needed to check it out. I turned the car around, pulled into the driveway toward “Jesus,” and found the next sign, “No Trespassing.” Hmmmm.
At one entrance
Another set of signs has intrigued me for several years. I see them when I walk up the canyon on my daily walk along the river. On my way, I pass two entrances to the same property. The first entrance sports a beautiful sign saying — in a very emphatic way – “Keep Out.” The other entrance feels very open and hospitable, declaring, “Welcome Friends.” But the combination of the two leaves me feeling just a little bit uncomfortable. I’m not sure whether I’m in the category of “friend” (welcome) or “stranger” (keep out).
At the other entrance
This is somewhat like our churches, isn’t it? We get all excited about showing the way to Jesus, but when people turn in the driveway, we’ve got other signs that tell them — no trespassing, keep out. (Or one of my favorite signs from rural Oklahoma, “Trespassers will be violated!”)
Or we say we welcome all people. (Open hearts. Open doors. Open minds.) But sometimes our guests have the distinct feeling that the welcome is not 100%. If you are not our “friends,” then the message is “keep out.” That’s the challenge, isn’t it?
I love this quote from Peter Storey:
SOME TELL US that following Jesus is a simple matter of inviting him into our hearts. But when we do that, Jesus always asks, “May I bring my friends?” And when we look at them, we see that they are not the kind of company we like to keep. The friends of Jesus are the outcasts, the marginalized, the poor, the homeless, the rejected — the lepers of life.
We hesitate and ask, “Jesus, must we really have them too?”
Jesus replies, “Love me, love my friends!”
- Peter Storey
Listening at Golgotha: Jesus’ Words from the Cross
From pp. 29-30 of Listening at Golgotha: Jesus’ Words from the Cross by Peter Storey. Copyright © 2004 by the author. Published by Upper Room Books. All Rights Reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/. Learn more about or purchase this book.
Question: What have you learned from signs lately?
