Preface When Formation Is No Longer the Church’s Center I have been trying for some time to name what I am seeing in the life of the Church, not because it is new, but because it has become familiar enough to feel unquestioned. It shows itself quietly in how people speak about faith, in how …
“The profound is not always simple to understand, but more often than not the simple is more profound.” — RLR What we must come to understand about the transcendence of God is that it is not meant to create distance, but reverence. God’s transcendence speaks of His immeasurable greatness—His otherness, His being beyond all we …
We live in an age that rewards mastery—over time, over tasks, over knowledge. From the moment we enter the world, we’re taught that understanding brings control and that control brings security. But in the life of faith, the opposite is true. God invites us not to master His mysteries, but to be mastered by them. …
“Every gift is God’s breath in motion, and every surrender is His life finding its way through ours.” It began with a simple recognition. A friend sensed that what rose in him came with the ease of breathing. He was not trying to summon his gift. He was simply responding to something that already lived …
I have often asked why a just God does not immediately confront injustice. If God loves justice, why does He not simply act. If He sees what is wrong, why does He not correct it. These questions do not come from unbelief. They come from the tension between God’s character and our lived experience. To …
Reflections on Avoidance, Self-Made Righteousness, and the Grace That Remains Table of Contents Movement One — The Sin of Avoidance — “I Was Not There” Movement Two — The Weight We Inherit and the Story Scripture Tells Movement Three — What Happens When Sin Is Removed From Our Thinking Movement Four — When a Nation …
I have reached the stage of life where too many of my friends share the same name. Any sentence that begins with “Mark says” is immediately interrupted by Liessa and my daughter, Rachel, who ask without hesitation, “Which Mark?” After enough of these exchanges, a small but necessary decision was made. In my writing, my …
Seven Reflections Table of Contents A Note from Ron Part One — Recovering Advent What Advent Is (Part 1) What Advent Has Become (Part 2) Part Two — The Season We Forgot Advent and the Season We Forgot Our Renewed Awakening to Advent Part Three — Reflections in the Light The Night Shines Like the …
Note from Ron This four part collection is being sent as a 2025 Christmas gift to those I consider family and close friends. I am putting the final touches on it early Christmas Eve morning, while our home is quiet. Our three grandchildren and their parents from New Jersey are upstairs sleeping, Liessa is resting …
A Preface of Sorts Mark and I have talked most weekday mornings for nearly a year—since January 2025–when life doesn’t interrupt our schedules. Enclosed are a few reflections I’ve written over the past eleven months. Here’s what continues to unfold: “I’ve learned that faith doesn’t always make sense when you can’t find your glasses. I’ve …