Author: vancecrains
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Preparing for Easter
If you don’t preach, you might be surprised to learn that writing sermons for Easter and Christmas Eve are very difficult. Why? Everybody already knows the stories. Even if you’ve never walked into a church before, Easter and Christmas are still likely to be stories you have some degree of…
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The problems with belly buttons
Years ago, while I was traveling in Mexico,a friend pointed to a Volkswagon Beetle, and asked, “Do you know what we call those? El ombligos, or belly buttons. Everybody drives one in Mexico.” And, it was true. Every police car, taxi, rental car, etc. was a VW Beetle. I’ve also…
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Privilege
As a white, straight, middle-class, college-educated, male, Christian, southern-U.S. citizen it’s taken me a while to grasp the place of cultural privilege I’ve been afforded. I never did anything to earn or deserve the opportunities I’ve had, simply because of the life I was born into. Nor have others, more…
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God is seldom in charge…
While I still believe God is ultimately in charge, is it possible God only controls the events of this world to the degree we align our wills to his’? Is it possible, we can only align ourselves, collectively, with God if we are truly seeking to know his’ will, and…
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Remember your baptism?
Remembering your baptism isn’t about remembering the event. Remembering your baptism is remembering who you are as a member of God’s family, as a member of the Church, and as a citizen of God’s kingdom. Remembering your baptism is remembering you’ve been spiritually changed. Remembering your baptism is remembering you’ve…
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What is manly?
I’ve recently been in conversations about manliness and masculinity, which has me thinking about roles and stereotypes.
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Timshel: “You may…”
Timshel means we have a choice. In every aspect of our lives, we have choices. WE CHOOSE!
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“Dim Dots” – Where we’ve been, and where we’re going
If you drew a line, starting with your birth, from dot to dot to dot, all the way to this very moment (yes, this moment – as you read this blog), what dots might be coming next, and after that, and after that?
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