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Robert Lowry (1826-1899) was a popular Baptist preacher and professor in New England when he wrote Nothing But the Blood in 1876. By the 1950’s it was the top song in the most widely used church hymnals. It’s theme is simple: cleansing from sin and atonement through the crucifixion of Jesus alone. When originally published, it had two scriptures printed above it: The blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. (1 John 1:7) Without the shedding of blood there is no

When we lived in Dominica there was another couple from our hometown of Portland, OR. Like many Portlanders, they were staunchly, fiercely atheist. They believed that religion was responsible for all the conflict in the world. But we were still able to bond over our common love of the Pacific Northwest. The husband was facetious and liked to strike up fiery debates with American Christians who lived on the island. There were more than a few public debates that were on t

I was talking with a friend the other day about someone we both know who’s had some struggles in their past but was working hard on becoming a better parent. I was impressed that she was doing that by seeking community and discipleship from other moms. I mused to my friend that when I found out I was pregnant with Solveig I read a lot of books and listened to a lot of presentations from experts. But looking back over my parenting career, pretty much everything I know about be

When we talk about salvation we also usually connect that with repentance. Asking forgiveness for our sins. Turning away from our old life and stepping into a new life in Christ. But sometimes that concept of repentance can unhelpfully morph into shame, condemnation, and self-consciousness. We look at other Christians and start to feel inferior, unworthy. Like we could never be as holy or deserving as the Christians around us. Like we need to constantly serve penance in ord

November 16, 2023 The parable of the Talents (found in both Matthew and Luke ), has been on my mind all week. Jesus tells the story of some servants who were tasked with looking after a ruler’s estate in his absence. They were each given a sum of silver, measured in talents (a unit of weight or currency worth about 6,000 denarii). When their ruler returned he asked for an account of his servant’s asset management. Two of the servants had invested their allotment of sil

October 12, 2023 Exodus 16 records the account of Moses leading the Israelites through exile in the desert and how God miraculously provided for them with sustenance in the form of manna (bread-like nourishment from heaven) and quail. But God instructed them to only gather enough food for that day (except the day before the Sabbath when they could gather double so that they would not have to work on the Sabbath day). However some of the Israelites shockingly did not obey Mos

August 24, 2023 I have a deck of cards that sit on my desk. Each one has instructions for different 30-90 second therapist-developed mindfulness exercises meant to help users reset with tiny pockets of intentional deep rest. By the dust that’s collected on top of them I’d say they’ve sat unused for, oh, at least 390 days or so. But God’s recently been reminding me of my acute need for mental breaks and spiritual reconnections with Him throughout my day. I’ve b

May 11, 2023 Well Church, an important date came and went this past week. And no, Pastor Ryan, I’m not talking about Star Wars Day. May 4 th is the anniversary of my family’s first moments in Minnesota to begin my candidating week. Four days later you voted to confirm me as your Pastor of Worship and Outreach and the rest, as they say, is history. I’m reminded of Romans 12:5: “So in Christ, though many, form one body and each member belongs to all the others.” Belongs

February 16, 2023 I was talking with our staff recently about how it seems like every generation looks back on Saturday Night Live with a particular fondness for the cast from when they were young. I think the same is true of worship songs. “Shout to the Lord” and “I Could Sing of Your Love Forever” take me straight back to a time when God was galvanizing a powerful faith and a bold calling within my heart. Sometimes words do this too – I instantly picture the walls of my hi

December 29, 2022 My family and I have encountered so many fun surprises since moving to Minnesota this summer, but I think one of my favorites has been the prevalence of tattoos. Minnesotans are so much cooler than I expected (my apologies for misjudging you!). I like to think of myself as pretty non-legalistic; I used to enjoy shocking my New Testament Survey students by telling them that my daughter (who was only 13 at the time) is allowed to get a tattoo whenever she want

November 23, 2022 Every December Jon and I get the kids an advent calendar. When I was growing up we were excited get a tiny piece of cheap chocolate each day but it’s amazing the variety of advent calendars you can get now. They have Dolly Parton ones and artisan cheeses , tackle box and science experiments , rubber ducks and honey . This year we’re getting Linc one with rock gemstones, and Harry Potter socks for Solveig. Our family enjoys spreading the gifts out all mon

October 20, 2022 I LOVE the holiday season. Caroling, hot chocolate, parties, 6 th grade band concerts, the stillness of the shortened days, baking, twinkling lights, the smell of craft stores… I love every bit of it. Well, except for The Christmas Shoes song – I’m decidedly not a fan of seasonal emotional hijackiing. …For us worship leaders, Christmas is our Super Bowl, our pièce de résistance. I usually start my Christmas plans in August and by this time of year I’

September 29, 2022 “What if I could speak all languages of humans and even of angels? If I did not love others, I would be nothing more than a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” 1 Corinthians 13:1 My 20 th class reunion was this summer. I am proud to have graduated from Skyview High School in Vancouver, WA and truly loved my high school years editing the school newspaper, singing in the choir, playing the marimba, filming student videos, and swimming. But the peop

August 4, 2022 Growing up contemporary protestant I was pretty judgmental of anything that felt liturgical or prescribed – I assumed that prayer should be spontaneous and from the heart, anything else was just ritualistic and inauthentic. But then in our early adulthood the Lord took Jon and I to a nondenominational church that embraced many ways of worshipping God without conforming to a specific denomination – so we sometimes sang modern worship songs with driving dru

June 14, 2022 A few weeks ago my family and I came home from our Best Possible Wonderfully Whirlwind candidating week in Minnesota. The people of Oak Haven had thought of every detail -and the things they couldn’t have possibly known to think of, God had. I kept looking for the catch, half-waiting for strings to be attached that never came. We were surrounded by the experiences, landscape, people and conversations that were just the perfect salves for our slightly dried-out h