By Todd Edmondson

• A Larger Story by Todd Edmondson (1/4/2017)
  ...es to share in the lives of those we serve. As many pastors would likely attest, these moments are special not just because of the ceremonies themselves, but because of the way they connect to something bigger. They allow us to look beyond the moment and see how that moment fits into a larger view of God’s work. Of all these powerful and holy moments that we as ministers and as members of ...
• The Beautiful Reality of Repentance by Todd Edmondson (10/19/2016)
  ... who is seeking to change his life, comes to the end of a journey. He has made his way upriver to the Jesuit outpost where the missionary priests are ministering to the Guarani tribe. In the past, he might have traveled this arduous route in order to kidnap and sell the people who lived there. Now, he has another purpose—penance. As he stumbles over boulders and climbs up cliffs, he drags behind h...
• A Deeper Communion by Todd Edmondson (8/9/2016)
  ...rhetoric clogging our airwaves and the vitriol that plagues our social media sites seems just the sort of thing that divides “father against son” and “mother against daughter.” We have elevated divisiveness to an art form, so that not just households, but communities, classrooms, and congregations bear the marks of estrangement. Even among followers of Christ, virtues like gentleness and kindne...
• Choices by Todd Edmondson (5/25/2016)
  ...rs old. It seems that my parents wanted to give me a treat, so they took me to the aisle where the candy bars were on display and told me I could pick one out. Instead of making a beeline toward the M&M’s or the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, grabbing one, and calling it a day, I simply stood there, looking at the vast array of sugary snacks, unable to make anything even approaching a selection. ...
• A Long Obedience in the Same Direction by Todd Edmondson (2/16/2016)
  ...em>Sports Illustrated for Kids</em>; now I simply check my Twitter feed), and listening to the so-called experts argue loudly about sports-related topics on ESPN and on various radio call-in shows. Last week, as the professional basketball season reached its halfway point and conversation began heating up around various players’ contracts and potential trade deals, I heard a lot of discussion ...
• Season of Anxiety by Todd Edmondson (12/8/2015)
  ...rlie Brown and all those gathered in the school gym “What Christmas is really all about,” might be the most rousing part of the short film, the opening scenes also speak in a pretty powerful way to the human condition.<!--more--> As the dulcet sounds of the children singing “Christmastime is Here” mix with Vince Guaraldi’s piano work, Charlie Brown and Linus move into the frame and Charlie B...
• Tough Guy by Todd Edmondson (9/15/2015)
  ...nce represented the apex of filmmaking—<em>Rocky III</em>. While it’s always fun to revisit a cultural experience from my childhood, in this case we found ourselves laughing at all the wrong moments. Particularly confounding to my kids was the character of Clubber Lang, played by Mr. T. For those of you who don’t remember Mr. T, he was a grumpy, mohawked celebrity in the early 1980’s, the star...