Old deceptions Whisper and roar across generations and milliseconds; Invisibly thread through heritage and culture; Shrewdly justify judgments and convictions; Subtly inform addictions and missions. Rabbi of lies spins intricate narrative so visceral; How can reality bear out anything else? Words of life Subversively battle power with enduring love and self-sacrifice; Delicately woo from compulsive ruts with created beauty and reflected glory; Gently conquer shame and contempt with grace…

It's not my norm to have conversations with call center folk (unlike some of us Villagers -- Rod, Emily L...). Today however when I called to get through the red tape to get my new arthritis medication, I asked how her day was going. She said it was busy but good and I mused that it would be as long as people weren't mean to her. She responded with…

The Bible tells a Grand Story about how God creates this world with people to reflect his image, how we all rebelled and continue to rebel, and how he restores us to relationship with him through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. At the Village we often sing words that come straight from this Grand Story. Villagers write many of them as a way of telling their stories…

Lent is the 46 day period before Easter: 6 Sundays of celebration amidst 40 days of fasting. During the Lenten season we are called to focus on Christ’s ministry and to spend extra time in prayer, repentance, self-sacrifice, and doing good works with a focus on the death and resurrection of Jesus. It is typical during this time for people to fast some element of food. In the early days…

  I By Julie Brunson, October 2017 One of the things that happens in the church is that sin gets identified as more significant than grace. It becomes something to hide in shame, especially when it’s something we don’t seem to be able to conquer without help. This fear creates demand that we define sin in such a way that we don't commit it. We don’t want to be…

Many of you know that I'm the official "administrator" of The Village Conference 2017: Encouraging Discipling Communities. In that role, I have begun in earnest some of the promotion efforts for our conference. Many of the key things we teach at the Village are somewhat contrary, if not all out contradictory, to the standard concept of promotional efforts. I'm going to be speaking on "Leading in Weakness." Now in…

Village Notes July 2nd

Village Notes June 25th.

Village Notes