The Roofless Church

Category: Being

  • Mixed Feelings on Race?

    After hearing about the recent shootings of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling I started asking myself what I might be able to offer to the community in terms of creating an opportunity for transformation. Soon I was supplied with an answer and a subsequent confirmation. On Thursday afternoon as I walked down Pearl Street in…

  • 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…

  • International AIDS Candlelight Memorial: A Reflection

    Recently, I was asked by the Boulder County AIDS Project to give a short reflection and closing words on May 15, 2016 for the 33rd Annual International AIDS Candlelight Memorial. Below is the content of the reflection. My hope in sharing this is that it will increase awareness of how–even with the advancements in medication–AIDS…

  • 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,…

  • And out of the Silence…Marisa Tomei

    “Marisa Tomei! Hallelujah! Marisa Tomei! Thank you Jesus! Marisa Tomei! Now I can eat. Amen.” What you just read was an approximation of my thoughts just before dinner tonight. I am presently on a retreat for new pastors and today is our day of silence. With the exception of a short session for spiritual direction,…

  • Lead Me Down the Path

    Who in life knows what is to come? Even when walking a path blazed by others who have come before you, there you might find unexpected obstacles. Surrounded on every side, though you remain on the path, the surrounding forest can be a hiding place for would be attacker or a temptation to explore. Who…

  • The Privilege of Fearing God

    Fear and God.  For a long time those two words seemed not to go together for me. After all, in the book of 1 John we are told “God is Love” and despite how we tend to think of hate as love’s opposite, anyone who has ever loved knows that is inaccurate.  Fear is actually…

  • The Burden of Innocence

    As I mentioned in the video, today I was thinking about the burden of innocence that we all share and how Mary, the mother of Jesus, symbolizes that burden. Sometimes I imagine if some of us hurt folk were able to just pour out our hearts and tell the burdensome story of how we lost…

  • Toward Unfiltered Consciousness

    This morning I found myself stuck on The Root.  For those of you who have never heard of it, it is similar to The Huffington Post, but with articles that are more tailored to the interests of a largely African American audience.  Some of the articles that I got mesmerized by were a 4 page article on African…

  • Where Are You?

    One of the words that freaks out many of my fellow liberal Christians and people abused by religion or even the people who qualify themselves as “spiritual but not religious” more than anything is “REPENT!!!” Sometimes I imagine myself saying it in a sermon and seeing people’s eyes bug out.  They might say, “Oh crap!…