In my upcoming book, Love’s Wide Embrace, I made this claim about the way we must improve and refine our understanding of God: “As we contemplate Jesus’ whole story — incarnation, life, teaching, death, and resurrection — our picture of God is honed. Think of the way an artist measures their drawing by referring to […]
Saturday Night Live’s Prophetic Question: Will We Offer a Safe Place to Land?
A few months back, I saw a Saturday Night Live sketch that I cannot get out of my mind. Satire done well is a bucket of cold water to the face, washing away the cruft of self-righteousness that obscures our vision. The clowns of Saturday Night Live threw such a bucket in a sketch brilliantly […]
The Justice of Jesus (TAW062)
Episode 062 – The Justice of Jesus (With Joash P. Thomas) Some Christians think Justice means that the guilty get their due. Other Christians think Justice is when everyone gets what they need. In a world that feels so unjust, why are we so divided on what Justice is? What would it mean for us […]
Do Not Lust For Results.
The words were just a passing line, an impromptu cue from my yoga teacher, but they clanged and reverberated in my mind. I shifted into autopilot, moving through the forms. For the rest of the hour, as my body moved, my mind couldn’t stop turning these words over and over. “Do not lust for results.”
For when God seems absent (which feels like most of the time).
There’s a problem many modern Christians have when they read scripture. Every part of the Bible was written in a culture and time when everyone knew that everything happened because God willed it thus. Good things were God’s blessing. Bad things were God’s punishment. When everything from the weather to invasion is seen as the […]
Six Weeks to Grow? Yes, Please! (TAW061)
Episode 061 – Six Weeks to Grow? Yes, Please! Journaling for Spiritual Growth, my book that teaches you a sustainable practice for spiritual and emotional growth, comes out this week. This is the 2nd edition, published with Whitaker House. Let’s browse through the book together!
Maybe you need to steward your attention?
This summer, my family took a week-long vacation to Central Oregon. One kid is in college. The other will graduate from high school next year. We are acutely feeling the transition that comes as our children become adults. This may be our last family vacation like this. So, we wanted to cram in as much […]
Navigating Toward LGBTQ Affirmation (or How I became an Affirming Pastor) (TAW060)
Episode 060 – Navigating Toward LGBTQ Affirmation (or How I became an Affirming Pastor) My journey from the Traditionalist view to becoming a fully Affirming pastor, with a perspective on a Gospel path to full Inclusion. This is a recorded version of the same presentation I gave at the Open Table Conference School of Theology […]
Is Shame Keeping us from Following Jesus?
Jesus washing the disciples’ feet in the Upper Room is a scene familiar to most of us. He stands up from the dinner table. He removes his outer robe and wraps himself in a towel, the garb of a house slave. He picks up a pitcher of water and moves toward his friends to do […]
What do you mean, “God’s ways are higher?”
Bad things happen. When they do, not only is it painful, often it’s also confusing. Questions nag. How did this happen? Who’s to blame? The questions become more pointed for those who believe God intervenes on behalf of good people. In fact, the more a person believes that God controls every single aspect of existence, […]
Lent is Exactly What We Need.
Not many years ago, I observed Lent for the first time. I grew up Christian, but the church I was part of didn’t pay attention to the ancient liturgical calendar. Frankly, things like that were too “traditions of man” for us, and if I’m being honest, too Catholic. In our sectarian pride, we didn’t think […]
Responding When The Zone is Flooded
An infamous political strategist, speaking of the plans of the current U.S. regime, said that the way they would overcome the resistance of their opposition and the limits of Constitutional boundaries was to “flood the zone”—essentially to overwhelm people with uncertainty, fear, and indecision. With new Executive Orders being issued almost daily, and the ensuing […]
What is a spiritual life? Do I have one?
Few words are quite as squishy as “spiritual.” Some avoid using it because it’s open to so many interpretations. After all, the term is used by all sorts of people, probably even people who disagree with you! Yet, I think spiritual is a worthy and helpful word. Note: This post, first published on 9/12/2022, is an edited […]
Constantine wasn’t the problem. Here’s why that matters today.
Of course, Constantine is worthy of criticism on many fronts. He was one of the earliest celebrity conversions we know of. He may have been the first high-profile person to convert to Christianity for purposes unrelated to Jesus. And certainly, He was a bloody, vindictive Emperor who used the violent power of his station to […]
Two Preachers React to God’s Love. Which One Speaks for You?
How far would you be willing to go to ensure that the folks you hate don’t receive God’s mercy? That’s the question that lies at the heart of the Jonah story. Most people think the whaleis the point, but that’s a distraction. Let’s briefly recall the story. And then I’ll share a fascinating connection with […]