For These Next Seven Days: A Prayer for Those Filled With Dread
Let not our hearts sink into anxiety and dread by the unceasing spin cycle of 24 hour news or the bread and circuses of the imperial intrigue. Instead . . .
A More Perfect Idolatry
I am concerned that, for all our brave talk of the Gospel, there is a part of us that is still tempted to find our own way toward the knowledge of good and evil, knowing better than God what is good for us (see Genesis 3). That there is a prideful instinct within us that assumes that we can, perhaps even have, designed the political system and philosophy that will lead us into the promised land of peace, prosperity, justice, and rest.
The Fairy Tale of Caring
The whole idea of “caring” is seen as weakness, and nothing in an era like ours invites attack – verbal or physical – more than even a hint of vulnerability.
Why “All Letters Matter” isn’t a Good Response to Red Letter Christians
Theoretically at least, a verse from Leviticus had as much weight as a command from Jesus. This kind of Bible reading has dangerous consequences.
Cathedral of the Tropics and Worshipping Through a Pandemic
Our reactions and feelings of loss toward having our weekly temple worship stripped away might reveal something of an idolatry within us. Have we become too dependent, too anchored, too confined to the temple walls and to the warm fuzzies we get from the familiarity with our siblings in the church?
Communities of Moral Deliberation
Should we emphasize personal rights over the responsibilities we owe each another? Should we emphasize what the law permits over what the Gospel demands? Of course not, yet these attitudes are all too common among white evangelicals.
On Gender Equality: We Have Made Great Strides & We Are Not There Yet
There is a difference between being “allowed” a vote and being listened to. There is a difference between being tolerated in a position, and being valued for the unique contributions to leadership only you bring.
Fire in the Sky: On Divisions and Forgiveness
Our country is at the boiling point in the divide between these two people groups. We listen to different news sources and make up our minds accordingly. There is a great evil that perpetrates false conspiracy theories with the intent to divide us.
An Adoptee’s Apocalypse
God has a deeper understanding of us. God gets the nuances of adoption and understands our pain—all of it, even the parts we think we’ve kept totally hidden. Jesus, too, was an adoptee, after all. And God is near to the brokenhearted—adoptees included, because adoption isn’t possible without a trail of broken hearts.
The Compass of the Beatitudes
Many of Jesus’ followers were angry. They had been anticipating the culmination of what God had promised, that once again the land would be theirs. But now they were subjects of the Roman Empire.