Christopher's Meanderings

This is a short review of American Evangelical Protestantism and European Immigrants, 1800-1924  by William J. Phalen.  American Evangelicals often forget, or don't even know, just how many of their current practices started. For example, the association of evangelicalism with the Republican Party seems like something natural for many Americans.   However, there were historical and sociological reasons for such associations that often escaped religious reasons.   In this text, we get a glimpse of quite a few historical associations.   Phalen uses primary documents from both sides to make his points, and there is much to be learned here. Speeches, sermons, and articles used by evangelicals get to speak for themselves.   Much time is spent specifically on the plight of Irish American immigrants and the struggles they faced as they came to the United States.  German and Chinese immigrants also get some attention, but the focus is definitely on the ...

Last night, I had dinner with a friend I hadn't seen for a while. The meal was nothing spectacular, although it was one of my favorites. We are nearing the end of a media series with my youth group, and he had come to share about his visual media company with my students.  After group, we crossed the road and went to a great local restaurant .  We ate and talked about our lives. On the drive home, I got to thinking about what sharing a meal with someone means. It's hard to dislike someone when you eat with them, especially if the food is inviting.  We ate Mexican food last night.  My friend commented on something we both enjoy about this type of dining- the chips and salsa.  When you share food like that, more family style, it's extremely hard to dislike someone.  The only way I could fake that is by not eating the chips and salsa.  We ate guacamole too. If I'm thinking about things I don't like about someone, I am not going to enjoy my meal, and ...

This post comes from my youth ministry blog ; we are celebrating Good Friday with a modified Seder meal this coming Friday, April 6th.   _____ I don't know if you are familiar with  Passover  or not.  Growing up as the son of a pastor, it was something I was fairly familiar with. My family participated in a few Seder meals over the years, and we read the story of the Exodus many times throughout each year (you can read the whole book of Exodus, but I would recommend starting by reading 3:7-10 ).  Today, I spent about 2 hours making my own matzah (unleavened bread) for our Seder meal we will celebrate on Good Friday.  It was the first time I had done so, and I was surprised at how much I learned through the experience.  First, the process really does get you thinking about what it means to follow God when He tells you to move.  The Israelites were told to prepare their food quickly, eat it, and be ready to leave the land of slavery ...