The Story of George Washington's Church

A true and moving story about an historic church in suburban D.C., illustrating how faithfulness to the Gospel can be costly, yet rewarding.

When I came on staff as a worship leader at my church in 2004, we had a beautiful campus with a modern sanctuary, a historic chapel (where George Washington had worshipped, really…), classroom and office space, and were located right in the middle of the incredibly wealthy city of Falls Church, Virginia. The city took its name several hundred years ago from our church’s name, and we had the historical markers and plaques to prove it.

We were very comfortable with ourselves.

That all changed when we decided as a congregation to leave the Episcopal Church. We felt that, in order to remain faithful to the Gospel, we couldn’t remain in a denomination that was denying it. We knew this might not be easy, but we knew what God was calling us to do.

You can read the rest here.

Friday Fun: Funny and Real Misunderstandings of Christmas Carols

True story. A boy once walked up to his mother at home and said, “Mommy, does God like peas?” Puzzled, the mother answered, “I imagine He does. Why?” The boy was referring to a song in church, the first verse of Michael Card’s “Barocha,” one of the many musical interpretations of Numbers 6:24-26. The boy, however, thought the lyrics were as follows:

“The Lord bless you and keep you

The Lord make His face shine upon you

And give you peas, and give you peas,

And give you peas forever.”

So, in that vein, I’m recalling a few of the misunderstandings of Christmas Carols I’ve had or heard.

It Came Upon the Midnight Clear - I couldn’t help but worry about proper musical posture when the angels “bent” near the earth to play their harps.

Hark! the Herald Angels Sing - For a long time, I thought “Herald” was the name of an angel, not a role of an angel.

What Child is This? - Why are the shepherds guarding while the angels sing? As a child, I was worried that Herod could send a trained army to the stable, and its only defense would be the shepherds.

O Little Town of Bethlehem - “The hopes and fears of all the years are met in Thee tonight.” No pressure.

Away in a Manger - Did the baby Jesus truly ever cry? Did the author intend that sentence as a present indicative? People get into tongue-in-cheek theological debates about this almost annually, but I think we can all agree that Jesus never figuratively cried, as in He never fully resigned himself, emotionally, to any situation. That’s why I feel fine singing this song.

We Three Kings - When I was a kid, I didn’t know about all the historical assumptions of this song, but I thought they were from a place called “Orientar.”  

Can you think of any other examples?

9 Things to Know About "The Hobbit"

Tomorrow, the second part of the epic films series based on The Hobbit will be released in theaters. Here are nine things you should know about the original book and its author, J.R.R. Tolkien.

HT: Joe Carter

Pope Francis is Time's Person of the Year

In an era where there are many merited complaints about how journalism just doesn't "get religion," and to show favor or compliment to a particular absolutist religion would cause controversy and threaten profit, it's a bit curious and refreshing to see the humility, grace, doctrinal firmness and virtual non-denominationalism of Pope Francis portrayed by Time Magazine, who has made him their Person of the Year. I'm not Catholic, but there are a few things we can learn about ministry and culture from the works and words of Pope Francis.

And so Francis signals great change while giving the same answers to the uncomfortable questions. On the question of female priests: “We need to work harder to develop a profound theology of the woman.” Which means: no. No to abortion, because an individual life begins at conception. No to gay marriage, because the male-female bond is established by God. “The teaching of the church … is clear,” he has said, “and I am a son of the church, but”—and here he adds his prayer for himself—“it is not necessary to talk about those issues all the time.”

If that prayer should be answered, if somehow by his own vivid example Francis could bring the church into a new relationship with its critics and dissidents—agreeing to disagree about issues that divide them while cooperating in the urgent mission of spreading mercy—he might unleash untold good. “Argue less, accomplish more” could be a healing motto for our times. We have a glut of problems to tackle.

Read the whole article here.

Happy Birthday Roast for My Little Brother

My brother turned 22 yesterday, but he’ll have to wait until I see him for Christmas before he gets his gift. I like to save on postage.

Twenty-two years ago, his birthday was also on a Sunday, and it was fun. My parents had me stay over at a nearby friend’s house who had a ton of video games, including Super Mario Bros. 3. I was elated. I was a singing angel in my church’s Christmas pageant that morning, and after my dad picked me up from video game heaven to see my newborn brother at the hospital, we stopped at McDonald’s on the way home (every 8-year-old boy’s dream), and I finally got the Happy Meal toy “Wonder Pig,” to complete my collection of Looney Tunes superheroes (along with SuperBugs, BatDuck and The Tasmanian Flash).

Yeah, my brother’s birth was awesome. My dad had to remind me that announcing his birth was a higher priority at grade school the next morning than announcing I had gotten “Wonder Pig.”

He was fun to babysit. We watched a lot of fun movies and ate popcorn together. But as my brother grew older, he got more annoying. I started my struggle with weight, and he fell in love with fruits and vegetables. I had my array of soccer “participation” pins, and he entered the era of “participation” trophies. Then he started using his scooter to run over the Brio tracks I’d made him. He just couldn’t stand that I would want to watch Bob Saget’s America’s Funniest Home Videos without him, and he was starting to beat me as Fox McCloud in Super Smash Bros. and with his warthog double-barreled pistol in our Nerf battles. He also preemptively adopted (more like kidnapped) all my stuffed animals and renamed them. That hurt.

Thankfully, as my little brother grew older, he began to know his place as I was still (I thought) smarter than him and could at least wrestle him into submission. He was a frantic and creative comic, like the squirrel in Ice Age. He was a good jester for our family.

Now he’s probably smarter and stronger than me. He’s about to graduate from college and have a job in another part of the country. I’m proud of him, and now he’ll be even better (which I didn’t think was possible) at leaving me alone. Despite eight years of age and other types of relational distance we’ve experienced, he gave me the complete “little brother” experience, both the positive and negative parts. And I will always make time, for the rest of my life, to annoy him. As payback.

So, happy birthday to my little brother. 

Friday Fun: Star Trek Version of "Let it Snow"

HT: James Covenant

'Twere the Days Before Christmas

(This is best read in a narratorial tone with a mild British accent).

‘Twere the days before Christmas, when all ’round David’s town

Not an Israelite was smiling, but more likely to frown.

Zechariah laid the incense by the altar with care,

Frightened to see the angel Gabriel there.

For God made a promise to the elderly gent 

A Spirit-filled baby will lead many to repent.

He will shout from the wilderness, ‘Prepare ye the way.

‘Be righteous and charitable as we wait for the day.’

He’d be dressed in camel hair, from his head to his foot,

Eating locusts, wild honey and never staying put.

Zechariah’s son’s message would cause the rich strife,

And immerse the lowly and unholy in new life. 

For Zechariah’s son, John would be his name, 

Would bring God’s righteousness and saving plan to fame.

John’s birth would be one of many miracles to come,

But because Zechariah doubted, he then became mum.

But though Zechariah could not speak of his glee,

his wife Elizabeth praised God for pregnancy.

Though the land was morose under Caesar’s quick sword,

There was then a sense of hope in the Lord.

Then, in Nazareth where hearts are gloom laden

The same angel appeared to a humble young maiden

Her name was Mary; she was celibate and lowly

But she would give birth to One Most Holy.

His name would be Jesus, meaning ‘one who saves’

He would rescue many bound for a perennial grave

For His kingdom’s rule would never be undone      

And He would be called God’s very own Son

Mary was frightened and joyful at once

But submitted herself to God at this bunce

With haste, she trekked miles, perhaps more than a dozen

To see Elizabeth, who was also her cousin

When Mary saw Elizabeth, John jumped in her womb

For joy was tangible in that little room

Then Mary composed a psalm of great praise

For His humble servants the Lord would raise

Later John was born, but his name still debated

And the mute Zechariah became quite frustrated

He wrote ‘John’ on a tablet, giving the final word

And his voice then came back, everyone shockingly heard

Zechariah then went from priest to prophet

And spoke of his newborn’s God-given docket

Along with the salvation that God would afford

And everyone in Judea had fear of the Lord

Then back in Nazareth, Mary’s betrothed then heard

From Caesar, that another census was spurred.

So Joseph and Mary, in her maternity gown,

Would trek to Bethlehem, Joseph’s hometown.

The carpenter and his gravid fiancee packed all day,

 and hopped on a donkey for a small place to stay.

Their loved ones watched until they trekked out of sight,

Shrugging, “Safe travels and have a good night!”

Though it seemed to many that God’s world had crumbled

He was, in fact, blessing families faithful but humble

Through a miraculous conception and an incarnate birth

This is how God would come save the earth