Parsing Punctuation

My article for our e-newsletter this week:
Some people prefer periods. I don't have a problem with periods. When it comes to a person's faith life, periods are great. They make a statement, like, God loves you. Period. Jesus is God-in-the-flesh. Period. Some people, however, use periods exclusively. Everything they say about God ends in a period and there's no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

Other people prefer question marks. I like question marks, too. They provoke conversation and can engender closer relationships. A couple of great questions from the Bible: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Who do people say that I am?

There's room for both in our faith (and I'd also throw in the exclamation point as in "We have seen the Lord!" after the resurrection of Jesus). It's a good thing when we can make definitive statements about our faith. It's also a good thing (and very Scriptural) to ask questions, too. We'll be doing a lot of questioning during this upcoming sermon series, but those questions are also backed up by periods. We believe that God wants a deeper relationship with all of us. Questions are a great way to get there. Period. Or, if the mood strikes you, exclamation point.

Chicago Experience of the Day
We have our staff meetings at the Chicago Cultural Center in the big room that acts as a meeting place for lots of different folks. During one meeting we had yesterday, as dozens of people were huddled over computers and coffee cups, these two young women were rehearsing the Alleluia Chorus complete with hand and arm motions, like a combination of a concert and swing choir.