ADVOCATE
God Loves Circles
Rodger Nishioka, plenary speaker and preacher God loves circles. Look around. Start with the sun and the moon. Envision the planets moving in their orbits. From the grand and expansive universe, focus on the minute spherical nucleus of the atom. God loves circles....
What Will the Soundtrack Be For the Church in This Generation
Lift Every Voice and Sing! En la lucha hay vida! No matter what people say, you are a child of God! On April 16, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr., wrote from his jail cell in Birmingham, Alabama, that “our destiny [that of Black Americans] is tied to America’s destiny.” ...
Circle of Faith: 50 years + one and beyond
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us" Hebrews 12:1. From an early age, we understand what a circle...
An Advocate Anthology: Advent
Advent is coming! Let's get ready! These four wonder-filled articles featured in the Advocate over the past few weeks are designed to help you prepare for the season of Advent. If you missed out on reading them before now, we invite you to grab a tea or coffee and...
Lifting Up and Celebrating God’s Promises
By Rev. Cathy Hoop “My whole being hopes, and I wait for God’s promise.” (Psalm 130b, CEB) As we turn to Advent’s hope, the promise of God’s gift of incarnation, the words of the prophets harmonize with the psalmist’s cry. God has promised to “execute justice and...
Advent Practices During Covid-Times
Doodle Harris Zephaniah 3:17-18 assures us that even though we are feeling exiled and broken, God is rejoicing over us, renewing us, and restoring us with “loud singing.” I love this idea of God singing loudly with us as I think about Advent. My favorite songs, both...
Advent: What Are We Waiting For?
Kathy L. Dawson Advent is coming. No, really, Advent means “the coming” from its Latin roots. This begs the question of who is coming. Of course, we are likely to answer, “Jesus,” but here is where it gets complicated. Is this the first coming of baby Jesus, with...
How Do We Live in Advent Hope?
The hope of Advent seems distant and unattainable. How do we live in hope when it’s not here yet? Perhaps this Advent we are called to a more robust version of hope. Biblical hope is never simplistic, never wishful thinking.
Time Out!
Sometimes in hockey, baseball, or another sport, the coach looks at what’s happening on the field (often when things aren’t going the way they intended) and realizes that things need to change, so they call “TIME OUT!” With these words, the team heads to the bench for...
The Birth of Parents Take Five Podcast
There are a lot of great parenting resources out there...but this podcast is different. It seems to be exactly what many people are looking for and that brings Arkansas pastor, Jen Evans, great joy. And that joy just keeps on stirring inside. The podcast Parents Take...