The Roofless Church

Category: Authenticity

  • Do Not Resist Evil?

    Do Not Resist Evil?

    “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak…

  • Can You Be Racist In the Dark?

    Who is a racist? In the wake of the election results, there are a lot of people who feel fear that our country has gone backwards and that somehow racism had receded and now, because of one man, it has reemerged. I understand why, but as I see it, what is happening is that we…

  • Raise Your Voice: Healing Society Through Conversational Risks

    Raise Your Voice: Healing Society Through Conversational Risks

    Living in Colorado, I see a lot of people taking extreme risks and pushing themselves to their physical limits. At least in the Boulder area, it is a way of life for many people.  If I drive up the canyon, I see people taking risks on a rock face. They get a hold on a…

  • “LieVersity” and “In-True-Sion”: What People Aren’t Saying About Why Diversity Programs Fail

    I am a minister now largely because working as a consultant on a “Diversity Recruiting” Program for a large multi-national company frustrated me so deeply that I enrolled into seminary just to see if I could learn what it would take for a person or organization to have a true conversion experience. Most people who…

  • That The Seeing May Be Made Blind

    As I said in the video above, on Nov 15, 2016 I will be co-facilitating an experience with Kara Dansky of 1,000 Arms and Brian Rocheleau of The Blind Cafe where we will invite people to have an encounter with themselves with regard to issues of race. The foundation of the program will be based…

  • If You Don’t Bear Your Cross, Someone Else Will Have To

    On July 17, 2016, I preached a sermon entitled “Broken For You”. The idea behind the sermon came down to the idea that if people took 100% responsibility for their lives the whole world would be transformed in an instant. The spark for the sermon came from Jesus’ teaching that those who desire to follow…

  • If There Was No Such Thing As Language…

    Recently I’ve made the error of reading comments from people at the bottom of some the articles about the recent shootings, racism in America, so called white privilege, and the Black Lives Matters movement. For years I stopped reading the comments because after doing so I typically walk away with a sense of foreboding. I…

  • Do Your Names and Labels Define You?

    How do you relate to the labels that have been assigned to you or that you have assumed?  Are they prisons that bind you or do they demonstrate choices that you have made and relationships that you are a part of? Do you define the labels or do the labels define you? Here is a…

  • Love the Players, Hate the Game

    Many years ago, a business consultant, who specialized in military transitions, took an interest in me. She started a conversation with me as I waited for a friend in the Family Support Center of Andrews Air Force Base. Part way through the conversation she jumped in and said, “INTJ or INTP”. Being unfamiliar with the…

  • The Truth Isn’t Going Anywhere

    After coming back to the world after my week-long retreat with the Bethany Fellows, I was initially concerned about being able to hold on to the insights I gained while with this ecumenical group of young ministers. I particularly wanted to hold onto what emerged out of the silence. But, after meditating for a while,…