The "Living in Tents" Blog by Rev. Norman Stolpe, Senior Pastor, Central Christian Church.
Click here to go to the blog.

I have adopted as a metaphor for my life the image of Abraham living in tents as a foreigner in the land God had promised him. (Hebrews 11:9-10) It inspires me to a light, flexible, portable life. I want to cherish every moment, possession, location, relationship as a gift to be held loosely, with generosity and gratitude. It protects me from clinging to the transitory while savoring the present. It calls me to a journey with unanticipated twists and turns that still leads to a secure destination. It tunes me to the voice of God, constantly coaxing me toward the presence of Christ. These entries are the field notes of my pilgrimage. You are invited to respond from your own journey.

Sami family in front of a traditional Sami tent, circa 1900.		Survivors of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake living in tents.

These photos are not Abraham’s nomadic tent, nor are they the sort of tents with which I have camped. However, they each connect to my family’s roots. The photo on the left is from Lapland. My paternal grandfather came from Lapland at the north end of Sweden. Though he was a Swede and not Sami, he lived among them. The photo on the right is contemporaneous with the family living in a tent after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. My maternal grandmother lived in Oakland, California at the time of the quake and helped care for the displaced residents of San Francisco. In the faces in these photos I see my own face and the face of Christ.

Abstracts of Recent Posts

About the Author

Norman’s ministry priorities are prayer, scripture saturation and spiritual formation. He brings an urban, multi-cultural perspective to the vision and mission of the church, encouraging everyone to discover and pursue their passion and gifts. Norman and his wife Candy have three grown sons and four grandchildren. He has a Certificate in Spiritual Formation from Columbia Theological Seminary of Decatur, Georgia and is a member of Spiritual Directors International. His BA in English is from Bethel College of St. Paul, Minnesota and his MA in Christian Education is from Wheaton Graduate School of Wheaton, Illinois. Norman was ordained to Christian ministry in 1975.

Path to Prosperity

04/14/2011 - Psalm 72 connects just care for the poor with prosperity for the whole community. That connection is explicitly expanded in Isaiah 58:6-12. Repentance and justice for the poor is not a message of gloom but of glory and hope. I am not suggesting any kind of political agenda here but a call for a spiritual transformation among the people of God. In invite you to participate in the conversation.

Book Burning

04/05/2011 - Through the ages some Christians have found a precedent for book burning Acts 19:19 when the converts from occult arts to Jesus Christ in Ephesus burned their magic books. I think it is important to note that this was not an act of political protest or an attempt to offend or humiliate their still pagan neighbors. They had no illusions about making such books unavailable, nor were they trying to protect the community from an invasion of foreign ideas. Rather, this book burning was an expression of a personal change of life direction. People were leaving behind their old lives to begin new lives as disciples of Jesus Christ.

The Idolatry of Pursuing Risk-free Living

03/17/2011 - Rather than a “Christian” solution to these human tragedies, I suggest that the best contribution those of us who aspire to be total disciples of Jesus can make to our world is to demonstrate how to live by faith in the face of risk and danger – how to depend on God when the best human efforts fail.

Connect With
Central Socially

Connect With
Central Missionally

Connect With
Central Media

Check out our featured media below. In this panel we will highlight either our special or most currrent media that is available on this site. For additional media, please go to the "Media" menu in the primary navigation above.