Lessons from Snidow
There are a couple of copies of a small red book in our office. It has an image of Snidow Chapel on the cover. Not too long ago, I finally decided to take it off the shelf and read it. …
Category: Nathan
The Gift of Religious Diversity
Last week, the Jewish Community hosted its annual “Pizza in the Hut” to celebrate Sukkot. This holiday commemorates one of the three festivals which Jewish people acknowledge as a commandment to make a pilgrimage to the Jerusalem Temple. The holiday …
Not Theology, But Theologies
Throughout seminary, I spent way too many hours trying to study, converse, debate, and understand theology. To be honest, I don’t think I did very well and I know that through all my studies I only scratched the surface of …
See Miracles Everywhere
My commute to campus is relatively short; about a six minute walk. Every day, I walk past the same houses and parked cars, greet the few neighbors out early and say hi to the neighborhood cat, and try to calm …
Blessing for a New Year
Earlier this summer on a blazingly hot weekend morning, my family and I walked to campus so our young boys could ride their bikes around the Dell. To my kids, campus is the best playground. We essentially had the entire …
Play, Work, Rest
This past weekend our campus hosted the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Regional Assembly. Close to 250 members of local Disciples churches joined for a day of workshops, connection, and meetings. There were yard games, inflatable bouncy houses, an ice …
Larger, Freer, and More Loving
If the concept of God has any validity or any use, it can only be to make us larger, freer, and more loving. – James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time I had a striking conversation with a student recently about …
Something Below the Surface
Last fall, my two sons and I planted an eastern redbud and a dogwood tree in my backyard. We had a great time digging the holes together. Both of my boys helped out; each with their own small hand shovel. …
Divine Dust
One of the most embarrassing pastoral moments I have experienced was when reciting the liturgical phrase “dust to dust, ashes to ashes” while leading a worship service. For some reason in the rush of the service, my mind read the …
Hey, Students Are Back. They’re Home.
We have a somewhat silly tradition in my family that when anyone enters our home, we all pretend we are sleeping. My two sons take this tradition very seriously. For instance, my three-year-old will immediately stop what he’s doing and …