Author: ericfolkerth

Eric Folkerth is a minister, musician, author and blogger. He is Senior Pastor of Kessler Park UMC United Methodist Church in Dallas, Texas. Previously, he was pastor at Northaven UMC in Dallas for seventeen years. Eric loves to write on topics of spirituality, social justice, music/art and politics. The entries on this blog reflect that diversity of interests. His passion for social justice goes beyond mere words. He’s been arrested at the White House, defending immigrants and “The Dreamers,” and he’s officiated at same sex weddings in his churches, in defiance of what some believe is Methodist teaching. Eric is an avid blogger and published author, and 2017 recipient of the prestigeous Kuchling Humanitarian Award from Dallas’ Black Tie Dinner. (Human Rights Campaign) Eric has led or co-led hundreds of persons on mission trips around the globe, to places such as Mexico, Haiti, Russia, and Nepal. He has worked with lay persons to build ten homes, and one Community Center, in partnership with Habitat for Humanity of Dallas. He’s a popular preacher, and often tackles challenging issues of social justice in his writings and sermons. His wife, Judge Dennise Garcia, is a State District Judge for Dallas, County. As judge of the 303rd Family District Court, she consistently gets high ratings from area lawyers, and was named “best judge” by The Dallas Observer. First elected in 2004, she was the first Latina ever elected to a county-wide bench in Dallas County, and is currently the longest service district judge in that district. She was re-elected for a fourth term in 2018. They have the world’s best daughter, Maria, and an incredible dog, Daisy. Find links to Eric’s music-related websites, at the top of this site’s navigation menu.

Faith, Not Fear, Is Calling us to Close

March 14, 2020.Reading time 8 minutes.

I’m gonna push back against churches boldly proclaiming that they intend to meet tomorrow and, by insinuation, calling the rest of us chicken or “afraid.” Because of the lack of wide-spread testing, because we don’t *scientifically* know just how widespread this pandemic goes, churches, schools, community groups, etc…are making the decision to close to the […]

Eminence Front

March 10, 2020.Reading time 12 minutes.

For reasons that are not entirely clear to me, the Muse compelled me to record a acoustic cover of The Who’s great song, “Eminence Front.” Somehow, I got it in my head that it’d be fun to try and mimic the guitar, synth and bass parts on acoustic guitar. Why? Because! So, scroll click the […]

Democratic Identities and Super Tuesday

March 4, 2020.Reading time 15 minutes.

“All politics is identity politics.” I keep mulling over this key learning from Ezra Klein’s new book, “Why We’re Polarized.” The classic formation of “identity politics” is used as a slam against liberals. But Klein’s book turns that on its head, and suggests that ALL of us have identities…MULTIPLE identities. Black, White, Latino, Asian. LGBTQ+, […]

Mayor Pete

March 2, 2020.Reading time 5 minutes.

Early in the campaign season, Pete Buttigieg made a stop here in Dallas for a big Democratic event. I was asked to deliver an invocation for the evening, which I was honored to do. During Mayor Pete’s keynote speech, he was interrupted at several points by hecklers, in what was clearly an organized plan to […]

March 1, 2020.Reading time 8 minutes.

Coronavirus. The world is in full-scale freak out, it seems to me. It feels like it’s getting harder to find the right tone, and not contribute to what feels like growing panic. Having lived though Swine Flu, Bird Flu, and Ebola —this last one, VERY close to home— one thing has become apparent to me. […]

At-ONE-ment

February 27, 2020.Reading time 4 minutes.

Lent is *supposed* to be about “turning a new way.” Unfortunately, for too many people, we grew up believing it was about “feeling bad.” There’s a big difference between the two. And that difference is summed up in this year’s theme for Lent at Kessler Park United Methodist Church: “At-ONE-ment.” The word that gets thrown […]

Stop. Wait. Think About This.

February 26, 2020.Reading time 19 minutes.

Sometime this morning, maybe even as I write this, the “Leaning Tower of Dallas” will finally come down. (UPDATE: Obviously, the timeline is much longer now…again, reinforcing the point of this essay…EF) I’ve been captivated by our fascination with this wreck of a wreck ever since it happened a week ago. I always love metaphor, […]

Jesus is Lord, and Caesar is not.

February 7, 2020.Reading time 9 minutes.

“Jesus is Lord, and Caesar is not…” This phrase is one of the key insights I’ve ever learned from Dr. John Dominic Crossan. And, honestly, one of the key insights I’ve ever learned in life. Crossan suggests that when the early Christian Church popularized the phrase “Jesus is Lord,” there was an understood second-clause: “Ceasar […]

“Be the Dog On A Walk”

January 10, 2020.Reading time 10 minutes.

One of the most important life lessons Dennise and I have ever learned, we learned from our dog. The lesson is: “Be the Dog On a Walk.” We learned this lesson observing our dog, Daisy. And I should describe it by first describe the opposite… “Daisy in the yard…” When Daisy is in the * […]

Be Here Now

December 26, 2019.Reading time 9 minutes.

I’ve got my Apple Watch set so that when I don’t have a calendar event, the phrase “Be Here Now” pops up on the calendar app. There aren’t many days when “Be Here Now” is the only thing on my schedule. But yesterday was one of those days. Today is too. Just about every minister […]