Winn Collier's Blog, page 60

Seeing on Father's Day

It's Father's Day, and I respect the cracks about Hallmark-fabrication and commercialism and the bit. In our house, though, we have a motto: Any reason to celebrate. Miska says it something like this: "In our world, we have every opportunity to be sorrowful. We will seize every opportunity to throw a party." Mother's Day, Valentines, St. Patty's, Groundhog Day if we though we could get away with it. If it invites a celebration, we're there.



And today, I have been celebrated. And it feels goo...

Mumford and Sons

Every once in a while, I stumble across a musician (or group) that captures me. It has happened again - I'm enraptured with Mumford and Sons. Four Londoners with an innovative yet old-time take on folk and bluegrass (and with just the right bit of British accent), these fellas were born to sing (or sang). With names like Marcus Mumford, Country Winston, Ben Lovett and Ted Dwane, what other profession could that take on, really? I guess they could have been Texas sheriffs or oil rig hands... ...

God's Body {why the church.4}

The church is not an ideal to be striven for; she exists and they're within her. 

{Georges Bernanos, Diary of a Country Priest}



In retrospect, I can say that I joined the church out of basic need; I was becoming a Christian, and as the religion can't be practiced alone, I needed to try to align myself with a community of faith.

{Kathleen Norris}



Church is the core element in the strategy of the Holy Spirit for providing human witness and physical presence to the Jesus-inaugurated kingdom...

All the Football Craziness

I don't think I've ever mentioned football here - or any sport topic for that matter. But a little bit of Winn-trivia: I'm a big college football fan. I'm Texan, what can I say? All this chatter about the demise of the Big XII brings back nightmarish memories of when the Southwest Conference crumbled. And if you know nothing of this dark day, simply let me say - those were days when giants walked the land.



The most probable endgame scenarios I've read leave Baylor and their Golden Wave March...

Tadpoles and Sacraments {why the church.3}

The church is a sacrament of the world's possibility. {Luke Timothy Johnson}



The church is not ideal. {Eugene Peterson}



Queenlight shines through things, through everything. {David James Duncan, The River Why}







Last Saturday, the Collier men hit a bike trail that, for most of its winding path, runs alongside the Rivanna River. The loop tracks a couple miles with meandering curves and a couple narrow passes, cutting back and forth between dense forest cover and green open spaces. One of t...

Healthcare for Dummies

Miska has endured foot pain for a couple months now. Multiple appointments (and shots with very large needles) later, they've scheduled her for an MRI. We have a high-deductible insurance plan, and so we will be responsible to foot (sorry) the bill. Of course, this means I want to know how much it will cost. How much do I need to come up with by next Tuesday? Sounds reasonable, wouldn't you think?



However, after three phone conversations, no one - no one - can tell me what the charge will be...

The Economy of Church {why the church.2}

Not what a man is in himself as a Christian, his spirituality and piety, constitute the basis of our community. What determines our brother-hood is what man is by reason of Christ. Our community with one another consists solely in what Christ has done to both of us. {Dietrich Bonhoeffer}



We are part of God's great renovation project for human beings. We work, but we work resting. {Richard Foster}





Being a dad is a significant job. We have a crucial task to raise our children to be moral, vi...

Why the Church?

"I like God; I just don't like organized religion."



"Why would I need to be part of a church? I can be a Christian just as well on my own, without all the headache and without all the hypocrisy."





I'm a pastor, so I hear these lines a lot. A lot.



And I get it, really do. Most of us have set in pews (or theater seats), bored out of our minds or steaming with anger. We've been shamed and manipulated and talked down to. We've heard sermons hyping the next cause, the next "vision," only to r...

Billy Collins

Because I love Billy Collins. Because I failed to herald April as National Poetry Month. And because writers and preachers also need to think about language that is just overdone.



Oh - and also because I like to share a laugh. And this, my friend, is a doozie.

Among the Paparazzi

Amazing who you run into during international travel.











Obama seemed a little thinner than I imagined.