by Chris Maxwell | Aug 28, 2025 | Blog, Book Excerpts
Today, in our spiritual formation class, we begin a slow and sacred journey. We’re reading one chapter a day from Pause with Jesus: Encountering His Story in Everyday Life. Yes, it’s a reading assignment. Yes, there will be reflections and questions. But this is not...
by Chris Maxwell | Aug 21, 2025 | Blog
We’re invited into a life that goes beyond religious routine. Spiritual formation is learning to live deeply with God—moment by moment, thought by thought, step by step. But that leads us to a practical question: Okay, how do we actually spend time with God? Richard...
by Chris Maxwell | Aug 19, 2025 | Blog
Spiritual formation is not a religious duty. It is a divine romance. This class is helping us learn more about ourselves and our Creator—how to spend time with Him in intentional, meaningful ways. The spiritual disciplines are practices that invite us into...
by Chris Maxwell | Aug 13, 2025 | Blog
Welcome back, or welcome the first time, to Emmanuel University. As the new academic year begins, I want to pause and say how grateful I am—for this community and for the opportunity we all share. What a gift it is to be here together. What a gift it is to call...
by Chris Maxwell | Aug 4, 2025 | Blog
(Read Romans 5:1–5) Life is heavy sometimes. That’s not breaking news. You and I know pain. We’ve sat in the silence of disappointment. We’ve stood in the tension of uncertainty. We’ve wrestled with grief, frustration, loss, longing. But in the middle of all of that,...
by Chris Maxwell | Aug 3, 2025 | Blog
Think about today. Just one day. Just… today. Not tomorrow. Not yesterday.Today. How can you become more aware of God today? What can you do differently—what can you think differently—to experience His presence in this one day? How could you talk with God more today...
by Chris Maxwell | Jul 21, 2025 | Blog
As I approach my 65th birthday on July 21, I find myself pausing to remember the summers that have brought me here. One after another, like waves on the shore—soft and slow or loud and full of motion. All of them part of the story. I remember summers as a child:...
by Chris Maxwell | Jul 18, 2025 | Blog
I just read—or attempted to read—a variety of medical journals about the importance of sleep. The language was a little too deep for me. But here’s the simple summary for readers like me: sleep is our friend. We need it. Our brains need it. And not just long nights of...
by Chris Maxwell | Jul 15, 2025 | Blog
There are moments when you decide to do something you’ve always dreamed of doing. And afterward, you’re just thankful you said yes. I did. And I am. For me, it was going to the Home Run Derby with my son Graham. When we initially talked about going, I hesitated. We...
by Chris Maxwell | Jul 11, 2025 | Blog, Book Excerpts
(A reflection from the conclusion of Things We’ve Handed Down: Twelve Letters I Leave for You, based on the book, For the Time Being, by Annie Dillard.) We don’t always notice it while it’s happening. The sacred, silent passing of truth. The gentle, sometimes gritty...
