On Q

It’s time to focus on the dwelling part of John 1:14: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen His glory.” I’ve read thousands of pages and truckloads of books about the incarnation, and not once have I heard any significant commentary on the fact that Jesus left His king’s palace in heaven and moved to the cheapest side of the tracks, brought Himself a little shack next to the rest of us, put a rocking chair on the front porch and a barbecue in the backyard, and became our neighbor. That’s big news, and...Read more …

With one flip of the calendar page from November to December, you will officially brace yourself for all that’s coming and prepare to fully thrust yourself into the shopping, snow, more shopping, decorating, working, more snow, office parties, sleet, school parties, ice, baking, ham, and yes, more working and shopping, gift wrapping, card writing, and bow tie-ing— with every ounce of energy you can muster—because THIS is the season of GIVING! THIS is the season, our culture tells us, of good will, glad tidings, comfort and joy—and by golly, we will do it! Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not...Read more …

I hosted a Christmas Party that was actually about Christmas with my neighbor, Barbara, last year in mid December. But I’ll confess right here: I wasn’t thrilled at all about the idea at first! For 2¢ I would have scrapped the whole thing! Several other neighbors were hosting holiday parties up and down the block — the kind of which I felt most people were more accustomed to. Ours was “risky” and quite frankly, it felt monumental to do. The “chicken factor” in me was intensifying! But despite the fact that we told everyone we invited beforehand that this was a Christmas Party about Christmas, and that we...Read more …

I find it fascinating to consider the Jewish fall festival celebration of Sukkot and its implications for us as we plan for Thanksgiving and think ahead to Christmas. Sukkot, the seventh and final in a series of yearly feasts given to Israel as a way of remembering God’s faithfulness, is more commonly known to many of us as the Feast of Tabernacles or Tents. During Sukkot—then and now—Jewish families construct a small, hastily built hut or tent—a sukkah—to eat their meals in throughout the festival. This structure is an actual, physical remembrance of the temporary, transient, portable dwellings Israel lived in during...Read more …

I was surprised by how much more I was impacted by this second VITAL event in the Bay Area; I had attended the one in March, but because my life is so full, I admit I was tempted to skip this one. Yet it turned out that I was greatly inspired and renewed in the midst of seeking God’s guidance in how I can reach out more to seekers to bring them into our current groups, and in how to start other groups and find leaders. As I visited with those who were having first experiences with Q Place I heard comments...Read more …

I am struck by the relevance of the book of Nehemiah for this season of Q Place. Nehemiah’s heart breaks to hear that the wall of Jerusalem lies in ruins. He mourns and fasts and prays to God before asking Persia’s King Artaxerxes if he can go and rebuild it. Against all human odds (but with God’s favor) the king says yes, and Nehemiah leads a great team of people to rebuild the wall. If we think of Q Place as another Nehemiah story, we have been “rebuilding” a way to mobilize more Christians in our culture to share the good...Read more …

With Thanksgiving coming soon, the season of Advent beginning shortly after that, and Christmas right around the corner, we are stepping into the time of year when people are most open to spiritual things. As a Christ-follower, would you consider asking God how He might want you to enter the holiday season as His representative? We have experienced Emmanuel! We know God is with us! Let us share Him in tangible ways that others might begin to experience the same through us! We’ve likely all heard this before, but may God grant that we know and act in accord with...Read more …

Well, I’m back from my sabbatical! Thank you for your prayers this summer asking God to give me some needed rest and rejuvenation. A pastor friend of mine who had taken a sabbatical a few years ago gave me some great advice—that I find an activity I love to do and spend a lot of time doing it. For him, it was rock climbing. For me, it’s gardening. In Sandpoint, Idaho, where we live during the summer months, I have a large vegetable garden and several large flowerbeds. This summer I spent countless hours in my gardens, planting, pruning, weeding,...Read more …