Gary Neal Hansen's Blog, page 58
May 27, 2014
Knowing the Past is a Great Thing: Thanks, Venerable Bede!
If you forget the past you are not really doomed to repeat it. However, remembering the right things from past can help you find wisdom, live in gratitude, and avoid certain things that would make you look like a doofus. One English monk who knew this, and helped the church remember its past for centuries after his death was “The Venerable […]
May 17, 2014
“Be a Real Christian”: Charge to the Graduating Class, 2014
As you leave seminary behind, as you move into your calling as servants of Christ, please, I beg you, take care what you aim for. Think hard about the goal, the target at which you are aiming your life. You want goals for your work and your ministry of course, but think, more importantly, about the […]
May 13, 2014
How to Really Enjoy Your Summer Vacation: Advice from a Fourth Century Monk
Did you get to the end of vacation last year and wonder why you were disappointed? Big expectations of adventure and rest swallowed up by Angry Birds and email? Time think ahead, even though Memorial Day is weeks away. Classes are over for the semester (though a two-week Doctor of Ministry intensive is looming). Time to think about Summer before […]
May 2, 2014
How Can the Gospel be Good News Again? St. Athanasius of Alexandria
We Christians proclaim “the gospel.” The word means “good news.” What happens when what we tell the world sounds old and worn — not “news” at all. Worse still, what happens when what we say doesn’t actually sound “good” to people? Sometimes looking away from our tracts and truisms, looking back to what Christians used to […]
April 29, 2014
St. Catherine of Siena, Role Model for Christian Women. Men Too.
April 29 was a sad day if you were in Rome in 1380. A woman who had changed the world died. Who was Catherine of Siena? Let me tell you three very cool things about her. First, Catherine was eager to listen to Jesus. As a child she began having visions of Jesus, and her loving […]
April 25, 2014
Why Is It So Hard to Focus on Easter?
Have you ever noticed how hard it is to really give your attention to Easter? It isn’t the marshmallow bunnies and chocolate eggs that distract us. Take, as an example, #1 in the sharefaith.com list of “Top 10 Easter Worship Songs” from last year. (I don’t really know the site. Just a hit on a Google […]
April 22, 2014
Vocabulary Lesson: “Easter,” “Pascha”
Why, you may ask, do Christians call the Sunday Jesus rose from the dead “Easter”? Good question. Apparently Christians are capable of getting their knickers in a knot about this: the word itself derives from an old English word, “Eostre,” which is the name of a pre-Christian deity. What? Were those rascally medievals trying to […]
April 17, 2014
Vocabulary Lesson: “Maundy Thursday”
Today is the day in the Church year that wins the prize for the most peculiar name. Generation by generation, we ask, “What on earth is a ‘maundy’?” If you were too embarrassed to ask, I’ll tell you: It is from a Latin word meaning “commandment.” It is like our English word “mandate.” This is […]
April 14, 2014
Small Group Leader’s Guide for Kneeling with Giants!
I am very happy to announce that the Small Group Leader’s Guide for Kneeling with Giants is now available! It is also free, and only for subscribers here at GaryNealHansen.com. What could be better than finding ways to draw close to God that really fit? Ways of prayer with deep roots in authentic Christianity around […]
April 11, 2014
The Good Samaritan: A Lenten Reflection on Heidelberg Catechism Q. 9
I can’t do it! You are not being fair.” Both as a parent and as a teacher I’ve inspired those accusations. Does our ability change our responsibility? If the rules tell me I have to do something, but my life says I just can’t do it, what happens? Of course I don’t ask people to […]
