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
Some Sundays ago, I preached a message to the congregation I serve that I intended to be hopeful. In it, I talked about the “scandal of change”. My main point was that scandal is part and parcel of any change endeavor. The text that I was preaching from was the Annunciation from Luke 1 where … More Courting Scandal
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
Almost every morning I wake up and look out my bedroom window and start talking to God. I don’t have a standard thing I say. If someone were to hear my thoughts, they might think that some of what I say sounds like a standard prayer. Sometimes parts of Bible verses pop into my head … More What More Can We Give?
Have you ever looked into the eyes of someone who has been truly brokenhearted? Perhaps you have and they were your very own eyes? If you have, then you’ll likely agree with me that despite what romantic entertainment will have you believe, there are relatively few people who have been completely brokenhearted. To give you … More DMX and the Ballad of the Brokenhearted
Love for One Another (Romans 13) 8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet’; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, ‘Love your … More All I Owe You is Everything
A couple of days ago I responded to an online discussion question that compared religiosity and righteousness. Honestly, I rarely comment on these kinds of questions because I don’t have much interest in having someone call me a socialist or something just because of how I interpret certain teachings from scripture about what it means … More Trading My Religion for a Cross and a Commandment
On the other side of all of the limitations that we accept for ourselves and project onto others is an awareness that each and everyone of us has the potential to be a greater contribution to the world than we might know. Conditioned by the illusion that there are some of us who are worthy … More Withholding Kindness Causes Harm
Imagine a world without the fear of death. What would it look like? How would you live differently? How would certainty that who you are endures forever change the way you live your day to day life? What technologies could we create if our imaginations stretched into eternity? This is something that I am currently … More Death, Where is Your Sting?
The day after the Vegas shootings, I dreamed that I was in the pulpit doing the “Prayers of the People” and decided not to stop until I could tell that my prayers were having some positive effect on the world. I ended up being at the pulpit for days on end without eating or sleeping … More What Do I Pray For?
