“I will heal their waywardness    and love them freely,    for my anger has turned away from them." - The Lord speaking through Hosea to Israel, Hosea 14:4 The words of the prophet Hosea were poignantly delivered to me in the form of a ministry charge during my ordination service. It is a powerful charge - heal their waywardness and love them freely. The two-pronged charge has become a guardrail in terms of my ministry as pastor and as chaplain. First, to heal their waywardness speaks to one of the most foundational functions of the pastoral office - healing. How does one heal waywardness? Some of the people that I encounter in ministry don't even know that they are sick or in need of healing - sure they

This past Tuesday, November 11, was Veterans Day, but it also serves as the feast day for the patron Saint Martin of Tours. St. Martin has a special place in the heart for the for me personally and for the ministry of CrossTraining. If you don't know the story, Martin was a soldier in the Roman army, following in the footsteps of his father. One day, outside the city gates of Amiens in France he met a beggar who was naked and out in the cold. As the story goes, Martin cut his cloak in half and clothed the beggar half. Later that night, resting with his garrisoned troops in the city, he had a vision of Jesus Christ appearing

While the offseason can mean many things for professional athletes the most integral part of this time is to capitalize on the opportunity to find rest. With the Major League Soccer season beginning preseason preparations in February and the championship game being held in mid-December, there is little true rest to be had for the players and their families who endure such a lengthy season. Even the offseason, with its time away from the game presents many different opportunities that get in the way of taking that rest. For some players, they can spend several weeks overseas training with other clubs. Others will be invited into camp for their respective national teams to play in friendly matches. Still others have

Last night, marked the final game of the 2014 season for the Colorado Rapids. In a season which began with much promise, to say the end was "disappointing" would be an understatement. The Rapids went on a 14-game winless streak to finish the season 8th in the Western Conference. With an uncertain future ahead - many of the players comprising the Rapids current roster may or may not be with the team next season. Add in the expansion drafts of 2015 which will help NYCFC and Orlando City fill out their rosters as well as the rumored dismantling of league-owned Chivas USA and there will be a tremendous amount of dismantling next season with the Rapids and around the league.

During seminary, I recall a particular moment when I was contemplating what future ministry would look like: one scenario, meant fundraising for salary and ministry to work with the Colorado Rapids as chaplain; the other scenario, meant working and doing the chaplaincy within the "margins" of life and work. As I relayed my fear and aversion of trying to raise money to my best friend, he simply said, "Oh, you must be an Ezra." His statement caught me off-guard and I begged an elaboration. He proceeded to share that in looking at different personality types, it had been helpful for him to compare the contemporaries of Ezra and Nehemiah. Both men of God, they both made a return to Jerusalem in