저는 대화하기에 가장 좋은 장소에서 좋은 친구와 커피 한 잔을 나누고 있었는데, 그 친구가 불쑥 질문을 던졌습니다: “어떻게 하면 그리스도와 깊은 관계 속에 들어갈 수 있을까?” 그 친구는 초신자가 아닙니다. 그는 오랫동안 예수님의 제자였고, 신학적으로 단단하고, 사는 동안 하나님의 위대한 일을 몇 번씩 체험하고 매일 같이 활발하게 신앙생활을 하고 있는 친구입니다. 아마 여러분들이 바로 알아차렸듯이, 이런 때는 “자, 여기 C. S. Lewis 책인데 읽고서 내일 아침에 전화하자.”라고 말할 때가 아닌 것이지요. 내 친구는 이미 깊이 들어가 있었는데, 더 깊이 들어가려고 한다는 것이 무엇일까요-어떻게 그런 일이 생긴 걸까요?

I was having coffee with a good friend, which everyone knows is the best place for conversation, when he blurted out the question: “How do I go deeper with Christ?”  Now, please understand that my friend is no newcomer to faith. He has been a Jesus follower for much of his life, is sharp and grounded theologically, has experienced God’s powerful work in his life many times and has a vibrant daily faith. As you can hopefully tell, then, this was not the time to say “Here, read this C.S. Lewis book and call me in the morning.”  No, my friend is already deep in…so what would it look like for him to go deeper–how would that happen?

케냐 엠부 근처에 있는 앙가자 횃불주자 학교에서 1주일 동안 가르치고 집으로 돌아온지 한 달이 되어 갑니다. 한달 학기를 진행한 곳은 나이로비에서 북쪽으로 차로 2시간 거리에 떨어져 있는 수련회장이었습니다. 목회를 위해서 해외여행을 하고 학교에 간 것은- 제가 꽤 많이 했던 일이었으나 최근 20년은 하지 못했던- 기쁜 일이었습니다. 저는 사도신경으로 시작하여 10번의 말씀과 신학 강의를 하였습니다. 저는 아직도 그 경험을 소화하고 있지만 그 중에 특별한 것들이 있습니다.

It’s been nearly a month since I arrived back from a week of teaching at the Angaza Torchbearers School near Embu, Kenya.  The retreat center that hosts the month-long school is a two-hour drive north from Nairobi. It was a delight to be at the school, and travel internationally for ministry–which I’ve done a fair amount of, but not for 20 years. I used the Apostles’ Creed as a jumping off point to teach 10 sessions of scripture and theology. I’m still processing the whole experience, but a few threads are emerging.

Given recent news that the PCUSA is declining faster than any other mainline denomination, we have passed recent changes to the Book of Order including 24-A & C, and the end of the missionary outreach of the PCUSA in the way we have known it for decades, it scan be easy to be pessimistic. I was born and raised in the PCUSA, nurtured as a third generation worshipper in the church where I grew up. My grandfather served as Clerk of Session in my home church, my parents are still elders there, I was raised, confirmed, and ordained in that church, and later married and baptized my daughter there as a now 4^th generation Presbyterian in that historic sanctuary.

Since 2012, TFC has offered resources such as pastoral support, church consulting, and gatherings focused on renewal and mission. We have encouraged theological education, leadership development, and spiritual vitality. Through national and regional events, we have provided space for encouragement, prayer, and collaboration among churches navigating a rapidly changing cultural and ecclesial landscape.

가장 위대함, 가장 좋음, 최신식, 가장 혁신적임, 진짜 원조, 화려하고, 섹시하고, 능력있고, 앞서가고, 유명한. 이런 단어들은 우리 문화들을 선도하고 유행을 바꿔 나가는 말들입니다. 어제의 뉴스나 경험, 책이나 영화나 테드 토크나 앱처럼 지루하지 않습니다. 우리는 지루한 것을 싫어합니다. 우리는 무언가 참신하고 장관이고 놀라운 것들을 원합니다. 일단 얻고 나면 또 다른 것을 원합니다. 불행하게도, 예수님의 제자들도 다른 사람들과 마찬가지로 이런 문화적인 갈증에 매우 민감합니다. 크리스쳔들은 운동을 늘 하고, 열심히 일하고 바쁘게 보이지만 의미가 있는 것은 아무 것도 없습니다.

The greatest. The best. The newest. The most innovative. The most original. Glamorous, sexy, powerful, moving, famous. These are the words that drive our culture and keep it moving from one trend or fad to the next. Nothing is as boring as yesterday’s news or experience or Ted Talk or book or movie or app. We don’t want boredom, we want the next cool, spectacular, amazing thing. And after we get it…we want the next one. Unfortunately, followers of Jesus are as susceptible to this cultural longing as everybody else. Christians find themselves on the same treadmill, working hard and looking busy but going nowhere meaningful.

저는 톰슨 윌더의  우리 마을 이라는 제목의 연극을 본 것을 기억합니다. 극중에 나오는 에밀리는 출산 중에 죽어 지역 공동묘지에 묻힌 죽은 영들 중에 하나가 됩니다. 그리고 그 영들이 서로 대화하는 배역 중에 하나입니다. 어느 날 그는 굵은 목소리의 무대감독인 해설자에게 혹시 그녀가 하루만 삶으로 돌아가기를 요청합니다. 그녀는 허락을 받았고 평범한 세상의 심오한 아름다움에 충격을 받습니다 … 그러나 살아있는 사람들이 그런 아름다움에는 전혀 아랑곳 없는 모습에 화가 나고 실망하게 됩니다. 하루가 끝나고 공동묘지로 다시 돌아왔을 때, 그는 무대감독에게 묻습니다. “그 어떤 한 사람이라도 자기가 사는 생애를 어떤 것인지 깨닫고 있나요?” 무대 감독은 잠깐 생각을 하고 대답합니다. “아니요, 아마도 성자들과 시인들만 그럴 것입니다”

I remember seeing the classic Thornton Wilder play Our Town. The character Emily dies giving birth, is buried and becomes part of a group of dead souls buried in the local cemetery who can talk to each other. One day she asks the narrator, a deep-voiced Stage Manager character, if she can return to the earth for just one day. She receives permission, and she is struck by the immense beauty of the ordinary world...but is upset and despondent that the people who are alive don’t even notice all the beauty, they pay no attention to it. When she returns to the cemetery at the end of her day, she asks the Stage Manager, “Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it?” He thinks for a moment, then says “No. The saints and poets, maybe. They do some.”

최근에 대화를 나눈 목사님들과 크리스천 리더들로부터 들은 말이 있습니다: “지금은 매우 힘든 시기입니다.”  미국에서의 대변동, 즉, 정치, 리더쉽, 세계의 정세, 사람들에 대한 열악한 취급 등은 이끌어 나가기에 너무 힘들게 합니다. 미국과-미국내의 교회-가 이처럼 짧은 시간 내에 양극화 되리라고는 아무도 예상하지 못했습니다. 지금 현재 리더쉽의 모습은 몇 년 전의 그 모습과는 본질적으로는 아니더라도 모양새에서 너무도 달라졌습니다. 거친 바다의 모습입니다.

I’m starting with the thing I’ve heard from pretty much every pastor and Christian leader I’ve talked with recently: “this is a rough time.” The upheaval in our nation, the politics, the leadership, the international scene, the poor treatment of human beings is making it very tough to lead. No one could have foreseen how incredibly polarized our country–and our churches–would be in such a short period of time. What leadership looks like now is very different from what it was a few years ago–in form if not in substance. The seas are rough.

앤과 저는 작년에 시애틀을 많이 다녀 왔는데, 주로 나이 드신 부모님들의 건강문제로 다녀 왔습니다. 시애틀은 정말 우리의 고향입니다. 우리가 자라난 곳이고, 고등학교 때 우리는 만났고, 결혼을 했고, 일을 하던 곳이고, 세 자녀가 태어난 곳 … 시애틀입니다. 무엇보다도 6년 동안 떠났다가 시애틀에서 11년 목회를 한 곳입니다. ‘고향’이란 단어를 들으면 바로 시애틀을 생각합니다.

Anne and I have been up to Seattle and back many times in the last year, mostly attending to health crises for our various parents. Seattle is truly our hometown. We were raised, met in high school, got married, had careers, three kids were born...all in Seattle. And then on top of it, an eleven-year chapter in ministry back in Seattle after six years away. So when I hear “home,” I think–Seattle.

A couple of weeks before we were to vote on the GA amendments our presbytery co-sponsored a zoom meeting in order to discuss 24-A and 24-C. The hope was for us to be able to more clearly understand what the impacts would, and would not be, if these amendments passed.  Like many of us, I am most concerned about 24-C and so was intrigued to see how this conversation would be framed.  By the end of the night, I was angry and the next morning I found myself (much to my surprise and awkwardness) weeping in front of three elders as I described the previous night’s event.  It took me some time to try and understand exactly why I was so deeply unsettled and emotionally raw.

This is perfect. Just perfect. By the time you read this, it will likely be mid-to-late January 2025, and you will have already failed at most, if not all, of your New Year’s resolutions, and are ready to think more seriously about the year stretching out in front of us. 

As we prepare to transition from Advent, our season of waiting turns to a season of wonder, a season of magnificent hope and expectation, walking in awe of the miraculous that we ourselves have been able to see and behold. We welcome the new year and with it, yet another reminder of God’s steady faithfulness for and unto each of us. Thank you, Lord!

“The world is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air…” That’s how The Lord of the Rings movies begin. I know this because I’ve seen them a hundred times. Or at least, I’ve seen the beginning a hundred times, before dozing off and waking up halfway through the movie. “There’s something in the air.”

“세상이 바뀌었습니다. 물속에서 느낍니다. 지구에서 느낍니다. 공기 중에도 냄새가 납니다…” 반지의 제왕 영화에서 시작하는 대사입니다. 저는 이 영화를 몇 백 번을 보았기에 다 외웠습니다. 최소한, 영화를 보다가 졸다가 중간 부분에 깨기 전에 시작 부분을 백 번 이상 보았습니다. “공기 가운데 무엇인가 있습니다.”

The Fellowship is family. Some of the most sustaining ministry relationships that I have are across the regions of The Fellowship. Speaking of finding the intimacy of family within the community we call The Fellowship, we are less than 2 weeks away from Advent. We are less than 40 days removed from Christmas, less than 50 days from…