By Paul Cypert  It was my high school sophomore year and luckily we had a sophomore basketball team of which I was a member and starter. So, as needed by the coaches I bounced back and forth from the JV team to the Sophomore team as needed. I was skinny and undersized but I loved the game. And I had this big dream of starting on varsity for the Bulldogs! Busting through the paper entrance circle o...  Read More

by Paul Cypert For many of you, much of your Christian background was a thorough indoctrination in offense, for most of us are wither we know it or not, or want to admit it or not, we were steeped in evangelicalism (offense). If you were taught defense it was primarily how to defend your faith and there is nothing wrong with that, but developing a personal defense to ward off what the world, the f...  Read More

by Paul Cypert The Prairie scape that I am most familiar is located in the High Plains of Texas. I love the solitude. It stills my soul. And it is in these prairies I have spent much of my time. There is no scrutiny, constant observation, no critique, dissonance. Just the winds, the critters and His presence. It’s as if I belong there. The expanse of sage and grass, the creek bottoms, and wood lot...  Read More

Here’s my own personal observation of the life and times of contemporary theology.  Over the years there has always been, a steady stream of the latest and greatest new revelation about Jesus and what that means for the church. It always came with fresh hope and belief that now perhaps the people of God would flourish, rise up and establish the Kingdom on earth.What this appears to be looking bac...  Read More

The Human Being & Human Doing People who are wise in the art of spiritual formation often remind us that, in the end, we would benefit greatly from understanding that we are human beings and not merely humans doing.  By this, I understand them to mean that most people find their worth in what they do, as they imagine others will perceive it, whereas the biblical criteria for worth is found in who ...  Read More

“Hallowed,” like most of the verbs in this prayer, is in the imperative mood, the mood most often associated with commands.The standard translation of an imperative would make this verse sound as if the speaker is telling God to be holy, which does not make much sense.In the Greek, however, the imperative can carry the sense of an entreaty; an expression of request.  In English, to convey this sen...  Read More