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February 11, 2021 In last Sunday’s gospel reading, Mark 1:29-39, Jesus is sharing the gospel. Fresh off of preaching and teaching in the synagogue, he heals the sick and casts out demons. All of this is done by the power of the good news of God’s reign of shalom brought near in the person of Jesus, the Messiah. The following morning, he heads out alone to take…

Throughout the summer, Clint and Mary Ann Jurgens joined with others at Spirit in the Hills in a book group studying Dear Church by Lenny Duncan. In this post they share their thoughts and reflections from the book and book group. Pandemic-induced fear and anxiety. Bitter, angry politics. Forest fires destroying everything in their path. One devastating storm after…

February 12, 2020 Have you ever tried to be something you’re not?I’m not so much talking about Halloween or playing pretend dress up as I am about those times when we try and be what we think others want us to be rather than being who we are. Maybe it was when you were meeting someone new and you wanted to show only the best parts of yourself and sort of hid the less…

Both younger brother and older brother are at the party. The younger brother inside as the guest of honor being celebrated because he was lost and is found, was dead and is alive. The older brother is there but outside the door. He can decide to remain outside, but the invitation comes to him, father comes out, and the older brother IS at the party whether he parties or…

That was the theme of this year’s Synod Assembly, the gathering of voting members from the 130 ELCA congregations that make up the Southwestern Texas Synod. Bernd and Alicia Luhrs and I gathered with a few hundred others, centered in worship, encountering the Road To Emmaus story (Luke 24:13-35) in…

We all have a story we are telling ourselves about who we are. It narrates our lives and helps us make sense of what is going on in the world around us. The story we are telling, listening to, and living shapes how we think about ourselves, about others, about God, how we relate to one another, how we behave, and how we see and interpret everything. Our first week of our…

Have you ever been to a training, sat in a classroom, read a book, started orientation at a new job or school, and felt like you were “drinking from a firehose?” Where there was far too much information and insight for you to take in all at once and you knew you were gonna have to review the notes, re-read the chapter, ask questions about things you know someone already…