-
When God’s Vengeance and Recompense Are Good News
I heard a lot about God’s wrath and judgment as a kid growing up in the church. God hated sin and I was a sinner deserving God’s wrath and judgment. That’s why Jesus came — to take the punishment I deserved. The implicit theology I learned was that Jesus, who was loving and merciful, saved me from God, who was mean and angry. This was something to be thankful for. Because of Jesus, I’d get to go to heaven instead of hell when I died. But there was also the end of the world to be concerned about. In the church and all the TV preacher programs that provided a…
-
Considering Calvinism: Why We’re Exploring Membership in a Christian Reformed Church
Last Sunday Jen and I finished a four-week membership exploration class at the church we’ve been attending a little over a year. It’s part of the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRC) denomination. The funny thing is, we’re not Calvinists. Or at least I never considered myself a Calvinist. For one, we attended a large church for several years in a decidedly Wesleyan-Arminian denomination that also had deep Anabaptist roots. That’s about as opposite from Calvinism as you can get. I taught a theology and apologetics class for two years at that church. Later I was an ordained minister and lead pastor for 10 years in that same denomination.…
-
The Way of Jesus Is The Way of Love and Inclusivity
I think love and inclusivity are the central virtues of Jesus’s kingdom vision. I’ve thought this for quite a while. And it’s a significant reason why I resigned from my post and surrendered my ministry credentials after 10 years as a lead pastor in a conservative evangelical denomination. I reached a point where I couldn’t be the pastor I believed that God called and gifted me to be, the pastor I wanted to be, and I couldn’t love people — all people — the way I believed Jesus’s central kingdom virtues demanded. The denomination was fond of saying that we welcomed all people. But we really didn’t. We welcomed them…
-
How Christian-Year Spirituality Shapes Us In The Way of Jesus
This past Sunday was the First Sunday of Advent. The Christian Year began again. The texts in the Revised Common Lectionary switched to Year A, starting with the texts for the First Sunday of Advent. At our church, the Advent candles were lit, Advent hymns were sung, and the message focused on living with active, hopeful expectation and anticipation at the coming of Christ when everything will be put right. This is the most counter-cultural of all the Christian seasons, our pastor suggested. Because while the rest of the world is busy shopping, decorating, preparing for Christmas, and making merry, Advent invites us to reflect on the end of the…
-
Debunking the Myths that Keep us from Self-Care
The lies we tell ourselves and how to overcome them
Recently I shared a Forbes article about self-care on LinkedIn that blew up with views, likes, and comments. I’ve never shared anything on social media that got as much traffic as that post. The gist of the article was that self-care isn’t an indulgence, it’s a discipline. And perhaps this is why we sometimes struggle with self-care. It’s just really not very sexy. Instead, it’s about making intentional choices as seemingly banal and mundane as turning off the TV instead of watching another episode, going to bed at a decent time so we can get up early to greet the next day with gusto, and practicing moderation with our food…
-
Paralysis By Analysis
Sometimes making decisions about my life is crippling. I think it stems from an idea instilled in me from early in my upbringing — but that I’ve since rejected, at least intellectually — that God has a perfect plan for our lives. There’s God’s “perfect will” and there’s God’s “permissive will”, I was taught growing up. And all we have to do is discern God’s perfect will and plan so we can live happily ever after. No pressure. I don’t believe that anymore and I’m pretty sure that’s not how life works. Nevertheless, it’s funny how things deeply ingrained throughout the formative years of our lives stay with us, even…
-
Why I’ve Always Struggled with Life Verses
I used to belong to a Christian subculture where it was popular and fairly common for people to say they had a “life verse.” And not just say they had one. But they also quoted it, shared it, talked about it, and asked others what their life verse was. If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, the basic idea of a life verse is that it’s a verse of Scripture that really resonates with you and speaks to you. It might even be something you strive to live your life by. There are actually website articles to help you determine your life verse. No kidding. See here and here, for two…
-
Reinventing Yourself
When I was an 18-year-old college freshman back in the fall of 1996 I remember the admissions counselors telling our incoming class something that seemed extraordinary. You’ll likely change careers at least five times in your life, regardless of your major, they said. Not jobs. Which I think any reasonable person anticipates changing at least a few times. But careers. Like one day you’re a teacher in the humanities, say, and then suddenly you work as a corporate executive at a Fortune 500 company. Not exactly an obvious career pathway. And here I had thought the whole point of me going to college was so I could get the requisite…
A Blog by Sam Ochstein.