This past Easter, I preached a gospel message on the resurrection story from John 20:1-18. At the end, I prayed and offered those present an opportunity to place their faith/trust in Jesus Christ and led them in what has often been called “the sinners prayer.” I encouraged them to confess their newfound faith to someone and reminded them of the Apostle Paul’s promise in his letter to the Romans.

I’ve been a Giants fan my entire life. I was weaned on Mays, McCovey, Cepeda and hot dog wrappers flying in the gusts of wind at Candlestick Park. Growing up, it seemed like we always came in second, but then we won three World Series titles between 2010-2024. Those were good days to be a Giant fan. And then, in 2015, I was offered the job of serving the Giants was their chaplain, a job I enjoyed the next four years.

When was the last time you wrote a letter, I mean a real letter? When was the last time you received one? I still write an occasional thank you note in longhand, but it’s been a while since I received an actual letter or sat down to write one.

On Saturday, December 31, I traveled to Albania with former BASOM pastoral resident Bryson Bridges. We will be ministering to about 120 Albanians who serve on the staff of Cru, a faith-based community originally founded as Campus Crusade for Christ, reaching out to university students with the good news of Jesus.

Through our partnership with Kairos, our Pastoral Residents will have the option to enter a bachelors, masters, or doctoral program during their residency at a fraction of the cost of traditional seminaries.

Recently, we prayed about the holidays and for the curmudgeons or grumpy people in our lives. We all have people in our lives who are hard to love. What I’m learning is: loving these people is not just nice, it’s our job as followers of Christ.