Category: Body of Christ
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Once a Pastor, Always a Pastor?
Whenever I describe myself as a former pastor, almost always, someone says, “once a pastor, always a pastor.” To which I usually respond with shrugged shoulders, and say something to the effect of, “I don’t know.” I’ve been trying to figure out what that statement means to folks––“once a pastor, always a pastor.“ Is that…
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Zoe and Sophia: The Feminine Was There in the Beginning
What if healing the fundamental division in our society enabled us to heal all others? Would you put in the work to be a part of the solution? In my recent meditations, study of Family Systems Theory, the way the brain tends to function, and working to practice non-anxious presence, I have come to see…
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A Box as Big as the Universe
My uncle, Vernon Kitabu Turner, can’t be put in a box. And it is time that I thank God for him. He just loves God and has ceaselessly sought to understand the Spirit that he has witnessed as active his entire life by any means necessary. When I was younger, people told me that I…
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That Old Rugged Cross
A stumbling block. An Offense. A curse. These are all words used to describe the cross of Jesus that we find ourselves contemplating. The Roman Cross, one of the most inhumane instruments of death ever conceived. Jesus, a teacher of wisdom and love who traveled through communities blessing and loving, healing and holding, cherishing and…
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What Do We Do With This Christ?
“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to God’s purpose. For whom God foreknew, God also predestined to be conformed to the image of the Christ, that He might be the firstborn of many. Moreover, whom God predestined, these God…
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Daddy, What’s the “N Word”?
There a lot of conversations that I don’t feel absolutely prepared for as a parent. Some of them are universal and some are exclusive to certain communities such as, “Are we poor?”, “Why do they hate us?”, “Will we be deported?”, etc. Recently, my daughter has asked me twice, what the “N word” is. The…
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Everybody Hates Christians
Don’t let the title of this post fool you. If you’re thrown off by this image and the title then chances are you have never heard of the show from the early 2000s based on the life of comedian Chris Rock as a teenager. The show was entitled “Everybody Hates Chris” and chronicled the awkward…
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Who Does Jesus Belong To?
John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” But Jesus said, “Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me.…
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Prophet of the Wishy Washy Gospel
This weekend my wife and I will be facilitating another session of Coming Out of the Dark in Quincy, MA. Shortly after the last time I did it and posted the above blog in an online group, I was labeled by a reader as a Prophet of the Wishy Washy Gospel. His comments gave me…
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Reflection on the Body of Christ and God’s Mysterious Ways
Ever since returning from China I have been reflecting on the Pauline metaphor of the Body of Christ. Meeting Christians in China was an amazing experience. I felt love, the Presence of the Holy Spirit, and the most sincere desire of the people to spread the love of Christ among their people and the world. …
The Roofless Church 