Tonight I realized that I feel safer in cars that look like I can afford them. That is a sad awareness that I need to work on more deeply. How I realized this was that I had to rent a car. I had a coupon that enabled me to get a compact for the same … More Escaping the Prison Industrial Mindset
Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 1holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain. … More When Rules Break the Law
You know what I don’t get? Racist Christians or racist people who practice any spiritual discipline for that matter. But having spent all of my life in Christianity, I really have to say that nothing is more perplexing to me than a racist Christian. Considering that Christian literally means, a follower of Christ, I have … More Jesus Went that Way! – Race In the Face of of Grace
Recently a friend told me that I deserve to be happy? Hearing those words took me back to one of the darkest times in my life–a season I touch on in the links on my last post, DMX and the Ballad of the Brokenhearted. Prior to the emotional crash I chronicle in that and other … More Do I Deserve To Be Happy?
I have been doing my best to write a post about my perception of the current NFL protests without sounding like I am too biased. But, after several attempts, I have given up. If I’ve learned anything in my forty plus years on this planet, it’s that a significant number of us think we are … More Will the Disrespecters of the Flag Please Stand Up?
I write when I cannot take the pain anymore–the pain of trying to contain myself for the comfort of others. I have lived my entire life with pain. I learned early on that it cannot be avoided. In my experience, it is inevitable in this life. Suffering however, is optional. Suffering comes when you do … More When the Pain is Too Much, I Write
What is freedom? It’s one of those words that is used frequently, but I suspect many of us have no idea what it really means. I have come to the conclusion that when most people use the word, it is a way of saying, “I want to be able to do whatever I want to … More Be Still And Know: Who Is the Free One?
I’m starting to think that advertisers, marketers, politicians, the media, and all of the seemingly maniacal masters of mind manipulation might be a little more innocent than some of us like to imagine? Why? Because I realize that the masses aka “We the People” are a lot more powerful than we are willing to take … More No More of This! No, More of This.
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 … More “LieVersity” and “In-True-Sion”: What People Aren’t Saying About Why Diversity Programs Fail
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 … More If You Don’t Bear Your Cross, Someone Else Will Have To
