gospel

July 12, 2026

God in New Jersey

Three months after the Holland Tunnel was completed and opened for traffic, E.B. White wrote that it seemed to be working just fine. It was tight enough to keep water out, deep enough so ships had not foundered on it, and you could dive into it in New Jersey and emerge, predictably and safely, on… Continue reading

Ruminations

christianity, E.B. White, eternal life, faith, God’s dwelling, good news, gospel, heaven, here and now, Holland Tunnel, kingdom of Gd, Knicks, Manhattan, mortal body, namaste, New Jersey, New York City, On Jordan’s Stormy Banks, personal salvation, salvation, spiritual body, Sunday school
March 1, 2026

Building on a solid foundation

If you’re trying to build a life of faith on a solid foundation, the last advice you probably expect to hear is to “[leave] behind the basic teaching about Christ,” teaching about repentance and faith toward God, about baptism and resurrection and eternal judgment (Heb. 6:1-2). A solid foundation is essential if you want to… Continue reading

Ruminations

abundant life, Are you saved?, baptism, basic teachings about faith, building a cathedral, building on rock, eternal judgment, faith toward God, foundation of faith, gospel, Lenten study, Letter to the Hebrews, repentance, resurrection, shelter in the storm, the purpose of faith
May 11, 2025

For the gospel to be heard

The church and its message exist today in a world flooded with noise and distractions that vie for attention. The world is inundated with competing and contradictory solutions to the problems we face. In the words of poet William Alexander Percy, “Too much is said too loudly; I am dazed. / The silken sound of… Continue reading

Ruminations

calling, Christian, church’s credibiity, eternity, future of the church, God’s guidance, gospel, grace, greatest commandment, judgment, living sacrifice, love, love of God, love of neighbor, message of life, reconciliation, voices shouting, way of life, wholeness, William Alexander Percy, wisdom
March 30, 2025

Being church in a new world

It’s been said, people don’t resist change, people resist being changed. Change is fine when I initiate and control it, or it’s okay when I participate in its natural, slow evolution. Sudden change that’s beyond my control is a different matter. That lesson was reinforced last week when Sheryl and I learned a favorite restaurant… Continue reading

Ruminations

Canaan, change, Gilgal, gospel, manna, metaphor for life, Passover, Promised Land, resisting change, spiritual disciplines, spiritual growth, spiritual journey, spiritual life, tradition, transition
August 25, 2024

Choose this day

Near the end of the book of Joshua (Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18) is a passage about choices that seems particularly relevant today. It describes a transition time when, after a generation of wandering in the wilderness following their exodus from Egypt, the people of Israel began settling in Canaan, their promised land. And there Joshua challenged… Continue reading

Ruminations

abundant life, authenticity, building a new life, Canaan, center of values, choice, choose this day, crossroads, Egypt, Exodus, fork in the road, foundation, gospel, integrity, Joshua, life questions, Man’s Search for Meaning, new day, originality, pause, reconciliation, reconciling love, span of life, St. Paul, stimulus and response, tansition, the ear of your heart, the good news, Viktor Frankl, vocation, what is my nature, who am I?, why am I here
October 29, 2023

On claiming an inner authority

Our healing, perfect integrity in our relationship with God, the realization of life in perfect harmony with the whole of creation, is not something we can attain by anything we do. It’s not a goal to be achieved, nor is it a future reward for right behavior today. It is a pure, unconditional, contemporary gift… Continue reading

Ruminations

authentic living, authenticity, gospel, grace, harmony, healing, inner authority, integrity, living authentically, Martin Luther, nature, Protestant Reformation, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Reformation Day, relationship with God
September 18, 2023

Love in difficult conversations

To love someone, to be in authentic relationship with someone, is to value that person. It is to recognize that person as having an essential, indispensable role to play in God’s ongoing creation, even if I don’t have a clue what that role might be. It’s to recognize that without that person, I can never… Continue reading

Ruminations

agreement, Christian love, community, differences, difficult conversations, disagreement, divisions, factions, gospel, inquiry, inquisition, Irshad Manji, Jeremiah, justice, kingdom of heaven, law of God, law of life, Listening, namaste, new covenant, opinions, peace, reconciliation, reign of God, table of grace
July 30, 2023

Feasting on heaven’s banquet

One of my favorite pieces of advice is from the fourth-century Hindu philosopher, playwright, and poet Kalidasa. “Look to this day,” he wrote, “for it is Life – the very Life of Life. In its brief course lie all the verities and realities of your existence: the bliss of growth, the glory of action, the… Continue reading

Ruminations

Alistair Begg, faith, fake it till you make it, good news, gospel, harmony, heaven, Hebrews, Jesus, Kalidasa, keep the faith, kingdom of God, kingdom of heaven, look to this day, love of God, O for a faith that will not shrink, relationship with God, salvation, St. Paul, The Second Coming, William Bathurst, William Butler Yeats
March 5, 2023

Questions worth living

One of the questions I asked three weeks ago was, “What is your most urgent question?” Your responses were more than interesting. They were thoughtful and engaging, curious in a way that might launch a serious and fruitful exploration of faith. And they expressed the deep yearning for God I believe St. Augustine had in… Continue reading

Ruminations

authority of Jesus, banquet of heaven, born again, born from above, born of water and the Spirit, good news, gospel, kingdom of God, living the questions, Love Dogs, Nicodemus, Nietzsche, one having authority, our hearts are restless, questions of faith, Rainer Maria Rilke, restlessness, Rumi, St. Augustine, urgent questions, yearning for God
October 23, 2022

Through the lens of love

According to Thomas Moore, teacher, psychotherapist, and author of the New York Times bestseller Care of the Soul, slight shifts in imagination have more impact on living than major efforts at change. Deep changes in life follow shifts in imagination. Jesus said the fulfillment of your deepest dreams and God’s greatest promises – the kingdom… Continue reading

Ruminations

Abraham, born from above, Care of the Soul, defense of the gospel, fate, gospel, imagination, importuning widow, Joseph Campbell, kingdom of God, lens of love, like a child, love of your fate, masks of God, Nietzsche, sharing the gospel, strength from God, Thomas Moore, unjust judge

About Me

Rich Neal is, in no particular order, a wordsmith and graphic designer; lover of typography, books, and publishing; photographer; contemplative; saunterer; and a retired and still-active pastor. He claims neither special wisdom nor particularly deep insight into life, only occasional glimpses of what lies behind the veil along the way. He shares them here in the hope of connecting the pieces of life’s puzzle that come to him in the journey and would consider it a gift if sharing them also connected him with others who travel an unmarked path toward the same unknown end.