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The "Living in Tents" Blog by Rev. Norman Stolpe, Senior Pastor, Central Christian Church.
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I have adopted as a metaphor for my life the image of Abraham living in tents as a foreigner in the land God had promised him. (Hebrews 11:9-10) It inspires me to a light, flexible, portable life. I want to cherish every moment, possession, location, relationship as a gift to be held loosely, with generosity and gratitude. It protects me from clinging to the transitory while savoring the present. It calls me to a journey with unanticipated twists and turns that still leads to a secure destination. It tunes me to the voice of God, constantly coaxing me toward the presence of Christ. These entries are the field notes of my pilgrimage. You are invited to respond from your own journey.
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Sami family in front of a traditional Sami tent, circa 1900. |
Survivors of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake living in tents. |
These photos are not Abraham’s nomadic tent, nor are they the sort of tents with which I have camped. However, they each connect to my family’s roots. The photo on the left is from Lapland. My paternal grandfather came from Lapland at the north end of Sweden. Though he was a Swede and not Sami, he lived among them. The photo on the right is contemporaneous with the family living in a tent after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. My maternal grandmother lived in Oakland, California at the time of the quake and helped care for the displaced residents of San Francisco. In the faces in these photos I see my own face and the face of Christ.
Abstracts of Recent Posts
Embryonic Stem Cell Research
08/31/2010 - My first question is: Is destroying a human embryo for research any more or less ethical than keeping it frozen indefinitely or discarding it once the couple who produced it no long needs or wants it?
My second question concerns a broader ethical issue. What costs, risks and even moral hazards are legitimate in the pursuit of a worthwhile end?
Too Easy?
08/12/2010 - My passion continues to be to awaken in others a compelling hunger for intimacy with Jesus that propels us into total involvement in the mission of Jesus.
Can the Center Hold? Reprise
07/14/2010 - Five principles suggested to start a discussion of what value core can hold together a large, diverse, pluralistic, secular democracy like the United States.