Ex-patriot always strikes me as a strange word. If I hadn’t already known it to simply mean “American citizen living abroad”, then I would think it is something like “someone who is no longer a patriot (loyal member or fan)” and therefore “anti-American” in some sense. I personally am not “anti-American”, but I honestly amContinue reading “A strange time to be an ex-patriot”
Author Archives: sqduble
Cults and Words
I received a letter and a phone call from a relatively new convert to the 新天地 group, which is called Shincheonji Church of Jesus in English. Perhaps I’ll go into more details sometime in the future as to what this group believes and practices, but I want to concentrate on my interaction with the youngContinue reading “Cults and Words”
Execution (not of people, just tasks)
. So many times I find myself with the “right ideas”, yet feel lost getting from point A to point B. I suppose I might be able to get myself across the way, but as a pastor, leading people, creating structures and then helping through the transition is so much larger of a task. Recently,Continue reading “Execution (not of people, just tasks)”
Worship, part 1
I should probably review some other posts and check if I wrote on this topic before, but my computer monitor is broken and any kind of extra activity takes much longer that it should. So I shall trust my memory. Worship is one of the main values of our church, but when we here “worship”Continue reading “Worship, part 1”
Freedom part 1
Well, i think i just told some people that I have a blog and then immediately did nothing for a while. Not a good strategy. Next Sunday, I need to speak on “freedom” for the message (I am speaking from 2 Corinthians 3:17), but even before that, I need to think over what exactly isContinue reading “Freedom part 1”
Intermarriage between faiths…
This will not be a long post, but should be the first post of quite a few. Here in Japan, and working in a Japanese church, one of the issues that the church is facing is in regards to the intermarriage between two people of different faiths. I am doing some reading right now inContinue reading “Intermarriage between faiths…”
Church arguments
I think a majority of church arguments stem from conflicts over how much weight a person is pulling, how much a person is doing and participating in the church’s endeavors. Depending on the church of course (I can’t imagine this being an issue in many Catholic churches). But often times protestant churches, especially here inContinue reading “Church arguments”
Usopp and One Piece
Recently I was reading an article about how anime has become more and more pervasive in the West and thought that I could shoot off some of my thoughts on some subjects around this from time to time. I was born in 1984 and anime was a small part of my early life, much largerContinue reading “Usopp and One Piece”
Back at it (Holy Spirit)
So after not writing on the blog for sometime, this October I should be a bit more faithful with my writing. While there are a number of topics that I could, and later will touch on…why not talk about the Deftones and the Holy Spirit (an unlikely combination!) So, for those who do not know,Continue reading “Back at it (Holy Spirit)”
Living in historical places
I’ve lived in Japan now for over 16 years, half of it being in the Kanto (Saitama) region, and now the other half being in the Kansai(Hyogo) region. While living in Saitama, Japanese history often seemed to be a bit more removed from my actual day to day life. I lived in Souka草加 (famous forContinue reading “Living in historical places”
Quinby 