Nick Highland

When I was a kid, I noticed a bird dangling from the telephone wires that stretched across my back yard.  Somehow, that bird had flown directly into the intertwined wires and had gotten its head caught between strands.  It was flapping its wings in desperation to free itself, but it […]

Knowing Jesus: Christmas Reflections

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The whole world has divulged into primordial chaos.  At least, that’s what I’m being told.  Between pandemic worries, political worries, church worries, family worries, health worries, mental health worries, economic worries, and worries about worry, the world around us feels chaotic and frightening. A friend recently wrote, “ Instead of […]

Good, Good Father

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When your day is longAnd the nightThe night is yours aloneWhen you’re sure you’ve had enoughOf this lifeWell hang onDon’t let yourself go‘Cause everybody criesAnd everybody hurts sometimes -R.E.M. – Everybody Hurts  I was at a socially distanced, outdoor gathering recently and came to a strange realization.  I had very […]

Everybody Hurts Sometimes

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Some churches are uniquely situated to thrive during COVID-19, and they all share a few common traits.  It has little to do with how good their technology is, their video-editing skills, or the strength of their worship team, and everything to do with how they are organized.  Internally-focused churches are […]

The Churches Thriving During this Pandemic

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I know we’ve all dealt with various hardships brought about by the pandemic, but I think that the hardest thing isn’t what the pandemic has caused, but what it has revealed.   It has revealed the severe limits of the faith of many of our people, who are turning to […]

A Lament

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Pastoring through a pandemic, as it turns out, is really, really hard.  Every pastor I know has been caught in the whirlwind of moving services online, managing health concerns, and trying to remain connected to the congregation but constantly feeling disconnected despite our efforts.  I have not yet known a […]

We can do better than this.

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There is little denying that the church is changing in response to this pandemic.  More churches than ever before have begun broadcasting their worship services online.  The church’s reach has increased, and many people worship with more than one congregation, often choosing to engage with at least one church outside […]

Coronavirus, Change and the Church

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If you could see the world through your enemy’s eyes, you would see God. You would see God in greater detail than you have ever known him, if you could see the world through your enemy’s eyes. As I was writing my last post, I was searching for a certain […]

Part III: Divine Revelation

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Every good story requires a shared understanding of context. If a person tries reading John Steinbeck’s masterful “The Grapes of Wrath” with a 21st century context instead of properly understanding its early 20th century context, details of the story will seem absurd. Farming in the 20th century was vastly different […]

Part II:  Context and Conversion

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January 6 is a lesser-known Christian holiday known as Epiphany.  Althought it may be lesser-known, it is nevertheless an important part of the Christian calendar, and regular remembrance of Ephiphany shapes us in powerful ways. Epiphany is a feast which celebrates the visit of the Magi to Jesus and represents […]

Epiphany

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I found out long ago that my voice has a credit limit.  Like a credit card, once I hit my “spending” limit, my voice is no longer accepted. It’s why I stopped speaking about politics. Here’s what I mean: If I have spent my time speaking about politics, and I […]

Thoughts on Being Hearable

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As I write this, we’ve just started a small break from packing up moving boxes.  My family is preparing to move from our church of five years in Indiana to a new church in Michigan.  We’re excited for a new beginning, new opportunities, and a fresh sense of pastoral calling […]

Leaving the church

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Every fall, I look forward to the first hard freeze.  The first freeze means I can go outside without covering myself in deet because most of the mosquitos were killed by the cold.  Frost is a world-changing force. When I lived in Oklahoma I knew that springtime meant hail and tornado […]

You are a World-Changing Force

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Lately, I have found myself engaging with leaders outside of my theological “home.”  I have listened to sermons from more liberal and more conservative preachers, and engaged with theologians who are more academically-minded, as well as church leaders who are more charismatic in nature. If I’m being honest, I approached […]

The Value of a Different Perspective

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Dialogue is dead.  Welcome to the age of a million monologues.  Welcome to the day when people shout angrily at empty space rather than conversing with one another.  Today is a day of hearing but not listening, when accusations are made without understanding, and when we fight against one another […]

Dialogue is Dead

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During a recent sermon, I spent time talking about how we are prone to using labels to dehumanize people and disregard their opinions, perspectives, and feelings.  Though I didn’t fully venture into a political discussion, politics is where this is perhaps most apparent.  If someone labels themselves as a Republican, […]

Politics and Jesus (Part One of Three)

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This isn't photoshopped - it's a photography trick called "forced perspective," using foreground and background objects to trick the eye.
I recently photographed my youngest daughter taking some of her first steps.  My first pictures were from my perspective – her dad, standing four feet taller than her and looking down at her.  I also took a few pictures from her eye-level, capturing the pride on her face as she […]

The Importance of Perspective

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16 A man approached Jesus and said, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to have eternal life?” 17 Jesus said, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There’s only one who is good. If you want to enter eternal life, keep the commandments.” 18 The man said, “Which ones?” Then Jesus […]

Life in this Age; Life in the Coming Age

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I have to admit – I was a bit nervous about picking up a children’s book by Matthew Paul Turner.  I associate MPT with deep cynicism and, at times, unkind words.  But I was pleasantly surprised with this children’s book.  With clever rhymes and an uplifting message, this book is […]

Review: When God Made Y ou

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If you are in ministry, you probably have at least a casual familiarity with the Logos Bible company, which was recently rebranded as Faithlife.  As a long-time Logos user, I was intrigued by the development and release of the Faithlife Study Bible. If you’ve used Logos, you’ll probably find some familiar […]

Review: NIV Faithlife Study Bible

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Brennan Manning is a bit of a controversial author.  A former Catholic priest, Manning’s alcoholism ultimately led to his death.  He was a well-studied man with a deeply rooted understanding of the love and grace of God, but also a man who was plagued by (and never fully delivered from) […]

Review: Ragamuffin Gospel

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I cringe when I hear those words: “We’re only human, after all.” I understand the sentiment that motivates these words most of the time.  It is a way to extend forgiveness to others by sharing in their fallenness.  Of course, the phrase takes a different turn when applied to ourselves: […]

The Problem With Being “Only Human”

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Life is better in community. Life is wonderful and messy and joyous and painful and dangerous and delicate, and all of it is beautiful.  And it is intended to be shared. It was created to be shared.  We were created to live in community. Community is more than simply a collection of people.  […]

Abracadabra, Community!

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