Brian McGovern's Blog, page 2

Grief and laughter

My siblings and I (I’m the goofy one)

One of my favorite photos of my siblings and I is one in which I was making a silly face. My brother and sister were genuinely laughing. But in this photo, we’re also dressed up for our dad’s funeral. There were plenty of tears that day, for sure. But amid the pain, and amid the feeling cheated out of a future with this wonderful father and grandfather, we encountered just a little bit of joy.

As I write this, we’ve been spending a few days in Fresno, ...

Set your mind on things above

Have you ever talked to a Christian who you just couldn’t really relate to, as… you, know, a regular person?

Something I heard a friend say years ago is that someone he’d talked to had been “so heavenly-minded that they were no earthly good.” We were talking about those people whose conversation on spiritual things is so esoteric, so high-level, that they really don’t seem accessible or relatable. They don’t talk about regular stuff. It’s not clear to the rest of us whether they think normal ...

Which Bible translation should I read?

“I read the King James Version, just like Jesus did!“

Yes, there’s a huge gaping hole in that theory. Jesus didn’t speak English. In fact, he spoke Greek and Aramaic. And being a man who grew up in the Jewish world, it can be assumed that He also studied Hebrew.

I believe the Bible to be divinely “inspired.” This means we hold that the content of what we call the Bible was supernaturally given to the people who wrote it down in its original languages. When we talk about the original langua...

Finding God in Nature

I went out the other day in search of some nature to sit in. I know that’s a strange thing to say. But my goal was to find a quiet space to stare at some trees and maybe a body of water. I didn’t care if it was a lake, creek, river, or a pond. I just wanted some nature.

I decided on nearby McKinney Falls State Park. The park is encompassed completely within the city limits of Austin, a city of nearly a million people. That means if you find yourself weary of the urban and suburban landscape, ...

Old Testament violence

A few days ago, a friend asked me the following question: “How do you rectify the peaceful Jesus with the murderous God of the Old Testament?”

That’s a tough one. I could have just ignored it, but I felt like this needed to be addressed. So I gave it a shot.

As with any study of the Old Testament, there’s a ton of context and nuance to consider. So I could never hope to do it justice in a Facebook comment, or even a blog post. In fact, there are entire semesters of college you can take to ...

The church has left the building

We have been praying that we would encounter ways to “be the church,” and serve in our community despite this really big pause button in our lives. How do we show the love of Jesus? How do we interact without… interacting?

Number 1: Pray for your community, for those on the front lines of the pandemic response. Pray for those employees of ours who are tasked with making high-level decisions on government policy, including the economy, healthcare, defense, et al.

Number 2: Check on people w...

Twenty-four hundred weeks

That’s how long I’ve been on this earth. Exactly 2,400 weeks. That’s a lot of Saturdays.

I could try to answer the expected questions about what I’ve done with that time I’ve had on the planet. I’ve done some worthwhile stuff, I suppose. And it could be argued that I’ve wasted a lot of time. Also true.

But that’s neither here nor there. One hundred percent of these past 2,400 weeks are in the past. There are potentially thousands more weeks ahead of me. That’s where my mind goes. Potential...

My ideas for a men’s conference

For several years now, I have been part of a team that provides feedback to a large nonprofit organization on various products and initiatives. The organization is known worldwide and has books, podcasts, radio programs, blogs, and video content all aimed at one purpose: to help families thrive. They asked us about our ideal men’s conference. You know, like the events that organizations like Promise Keepers used to be famous for. So I answered, and I thought I’d also share my response as a blog ...

The Ahmaud Arbery case, my privilege, and love

I’m no activist. I don’t jump on bandwagons, especially when I smell the media pushing a narrative. But I went for a run around our town yesterday, and in light of the Ahmaud Arbery case, there was something I made sure to notice:

At no time did I feel unsafe. At no time did I have any concern that someone might think I looked suspicious. At no time did anyone approach me or even look my direction.

Now, there are several factors at play. For one, I live in one of the safest towns in my state. So...

What is baptism?

To find out what baptism is, we only need to look at Jesus’ example. Wait, Jesus got baptized? Who did the sprinkling? Why would he need it if He wasn’t a sinner?

Yes, he was baptized. No, He wasn’t sprinkled. When the Bible mentions baptism it describes the act as immersion in water of someone who has made a conscious decision. It serves as a public declaration of faith.

It’s not infant sprinkling. It doesn’t literally wash sins off of you. It’s not the way you get saved. The saving has already...