by jakeowensby | May 13, 2013 | Believing, Christian Community
We send messages all the time. Sometimes we use words.Facial expressions, posture, hand gestures, breathing patterns, and the direction of our gaze convey all sorts of things about our present state of mind, our emotional response to the person we’re talking to at...
by jakeowensby | Apr 28, 2013 | Christian Community
Jesus gave his disciples a new commandment. In John’s Gospel, it reads like this:I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. (John 13:34)I think we might get what Jesus has in mind if we put it...
by jakeowensby | Feb 20, 2013 | Christian Community, Christian Practices, History
From Bishop Jake’s “Wednesday Thoughts”:Yesterday our priests and deacons gathered with me for one of our regular Clergy Days. Among the things on our hearts and minds was the challenge of being the Church in 2013 and beyond.Our place in history...
by jakeowensby | Oct 7, 2012 | Belonging, Christian Community, church
Blood is thicker than water. You’ve probably heard this common proverb before. It means that family bonds are stronger than relationships we form for ourselves.  Jesus did not know the phrase, but he was certainly aware of the sentiment. In his day, family ties...
by jakeowensby | Sep 30, 2012 | Christian Community
Everybody wants to be special. But there aren’t many of us who want to be abnormal. We want to stand out enough to be noticed and appreciated as unique individuals. And yet we want to fit in with other people. Fitting in means being recognized as normal. ...
by jakeowensby | Sep 24, 2012 | Christian Community
The disciples have been bickering about who is the greatest. In other words, they were arguing about the pecking order among Jesus’ followers. They lived in a world organized into higher and lower social rank, so it was second nature to them to seek a superior...
