The Journal
Reflections on Faith, Grief, History, and the Sacred in Ordinary Life
Every reflection begins with a question.
Sometimes that question comes from Scripture.
Sometimes from grief.
Sometimes from history.
Sometimes from the ordinary moments of everyday life.
These reflections are offered in the hope that together we may discover God’s presence, deepen our faith, and learn from those who have gone before us.
Welcome. I’m glad you’re here.
Latest Reflections
Recent essays on faith, grief, history, and discovering the sacred in ordinary life.
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Part Two: A Google Search
Every research project has an origin story. Mine began with a simple Google search for a Revolutionary-era sermon. I expected to find confirmation for what I already believed. Instead, Samuel West challenged me to rethink not only the American Revolution, but the way I read history itself.
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Before the Verdict: Understanding the Holy Commonwealth
Before we decide what to think about the Puritans, we should first understand what they believed they were trying to build. This opening essay invites readers to set aside modern assumptions and enter the world of seventeenth-century Massachusetts on its own terms, where covenant, community, and faith shaped every aspect of public life.
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Making Room for New Life
What if the question is not how to attract new life, but whether we have made room for it to grow? A stubborn patch of knotweed, a few unexpected shoots, and Jesus’ parables of the Kingdom invite us to consider what love requires of us now.
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Recovering Samuel West
Two hundred and fifty years ago, a New England minister preached a sermon that helped shape the American Revolution. Today, almost no one knows his name. This is the beginning of a journey to recover the life, writings, and forgotten voice of the Rev. Dr. Samuel West—and to discover why his ideas still matter.
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The Image of God and the Public Square
The benediction is not the end of worship—it is the beginning of the Church’s public vocation. What if the purpose of Sunday worship is not simply to prepare us to defend our beliefs, but to teach us how to see? In a world that trains us to look for causes, labels, and divisions, this essay…
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Finding Bethany
Somewhere along life’s journey, each of us needs a Bethany—a place where we can rest, be restored, and remember who we are before continuing down the road.
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The Word Made Public: Freedom of the Pulpit and the American Experiment
An old house. A New England meetinghouse. A village green. A pastor named Samuel West. What do they have in common? More than two centuries separate us from the American founding, yet the questions facing the Church remain remarkably familiar. This essay is an invitation to recover the patient discipline of beginning with God, listening…
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The Chair Across the Table
A chair quietly keeps the history of everyone who has ever occupied it. Some remind us of those we miss. Others wait for someone we have not yet welcomed. Love has always known how to make room.
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Just Over the Hill
One discovery quietly leads to another until you stop seeing a place simply as somewhere you live and begin seeing it as somewhere you belong.