Author: Jon Gauger

The view is a gift.  Spectacular at times, really. Every morning upon arriving at my downtown office, I usually glance out an east-facing window toward the 100-story John Hancock Tower, the Chicago skyline and beyond.  For more than two decades, I have relished a city view of sunrises, sunsets, lightning and snowstorms.  Better than that, I have seen the lake.  Amazingly, through two office moves, I have managed to hang on to a sliver of the nation's third largest body of water.  There is never a time when Lake Michigan is less than awe-inspiring.  I will miss it. The rumble…

“I just don't feel in the Christmas spirit.” Have you ever said that?  I have. But where did we ever get the idea that we are supposed to feel a specific sentiment? Is there some Department of Christmas Inspiration that has issued guidelines for what sort of emotions one ought to feel every 25th of December?  Kidding aside, I “get” feelings.  I can be a downright emotional sort, especially for a guy.  Nor do I think it's wrong to expect that Christmas might induce a unique set of emotions.  Where I think we run into trouble is when we demand…

It blows my mind.  On Facebook, we share not only where we are, who we are with, but–increasingly–what we are eating.  Especially during the holidays!  Facebook has become “foodbook!” I've scratched my head trying to figure out why we're so big on sharing what's for dinner.  All I can point to is the perfect recipe of improved camera optics and a tangy combination of fidgety phone folks with a penchant for sharing too much information.   Restaurants have wised up.  According to an article in the Associated Press, the restaurant chain, Chili’s, now spends $750,000 annually on an egg wash…

Why don’t our churches sing more Christmas carols during the Christmas season?  I asked this question last week, inviting your response.  The question is born of the observation that during the Christmas season, many churches are unable (or unwilling) to disconnect entirely from their beloved worship choruses from Chris Tomlin or Hillsong heard the rest of the year.  Here is a sample of your responses to the question, “Why don’t we sing more Christmas music in church?” Peter writes, I have wondered the same thing about carols.  Apparently Christmas carols aren’t trendy? Ron claims: Adults don't sing Christmas carols because…

Four weeks.  Maybe five at the max.  It’s a rather small window of time in which to sing Christmas carols.  That’s ‘cause we don’t sing Joy to the World in April.  And you won’t hear your worship leader inviting you to sing Silent Night in the heat of August.  Why?  Christmas music is for the Christmas season. So here’s my question—okay, call it a complaint: Why are so many of today’s churches so unwilling to sing exclusively Christmas music during the Advent season?  Sure, everybody mixes in some Christmas carols.  But most churches I’ve observed just can’t quite let go…

Anticipation gushed like an oil well–and this crowd was fuel hungry.  They came from Tanzania, Ghana, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea—and Kenya.  Nearly 160 in number, these Christian media professionals assembled in Nairobi for intense learning and spiritual encouragement.  Moody Radio calls it a Global Partners Training, where every evening session kicks off with praise music. Until you have experienced African worship, I would politely suggest your definition of blessing is undersized.  This we were reminded of in surround sound as worship leader Gloria Muliro took to the stage.  Every person in the room seemed engaged, if not…

They look soft.  Cute.  Cuddly.  In photos and on television, monkeys are portrayed as adorable critters, albeit with a streak of benign Curious George mischief.  My moments with monkeys suggest otherwise. In South Africa, a monkey dove through the open door of our resort room, stole the bread off our counter and scampered up a tree with it (glaring at my wife as he stuffed it into his mouth). In Kenya's Nairobi National Park, small monkeys stretched wildly from branch to branch then skittered down trunks.  All this effort because some from our group were offering the diminutive primates potato…

It's supposed to feel sacred, to evoke awe.  Yet somehow, I allowed wonder to pass me by. Any trip to the Holy Land is punctuated with moments of spiritual consequence.  Like sailing on the Sea of Galilee: you peer out into hills that once hosted a dinner for five thousand.   Meandering through the streets of Jerusalem's old city is akin to time travel. But for Holy Land travelers weary of shrines, icons and incense, the Garden Tomb is an oasis.  Stone is possessed of a rare eloquence having echoed the words, “He is risen.” This seventh trip to Israel, I…

A 4am wake up alarm is not my idea of a fun time.  But some destinations are worth it.  Masada is one of them. On the eastern edge of the Judean Wilderness, an isolated mountain dominates the skyline.  At the top is a plateau upon which Herod the Great built the fortress known as Masada.  Here, 900 Jews once holed up and defied the Roman army until a siege ramp spelled their defeat.  Rather than become slaves to Rome, all 900 took their own lives hours before the Romans finally breached the top. The edifice stands defiant against time and…

There's the disaster you see—and the disaster you don't see.  I'll let you decide which is worse.  Walk with me down the cardo (main north-south street) of Beit She‘an, an ancient town at the intersection of the Jordan River and the Jezreel Valley.  As the paver blocks are angled (not to mention ancient) do watch your step.  Notice the fluted stone columns and cornices.  Clearly this place was at one-time a classy neighborhood.   Then an earthquake in 679 AD all but leveled the town.   Talk about disaster!  But this city is also the site of another epic event, one that…