Spirituality. Politics. Music. Life.
Because I grew up as an “average” White American, my learnings about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. have mostly come from White America. I was in my mid-20s before I first understood this. Only now, in my mid-50s, can I actually look back and see the lessons more clearly. With the benefit of hindsight, I […]
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Everybody is haunted by the images of this week.The Nazi shirts…the Confederate flag…the man with zip ties in military gear…the wild-eyed looks of these insurrectionists. But I’ve been deeply stirred by two images.One, of this Capitol police officer being crushed.The other, of Representative Andy Kim cleaning up the trash. I know that this is a […]
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If you are a Trump supporter who condemns yesterday’s insurrection against the United States, if you believe yourself to be a Christian or a decent person, today is a day to forever take down your Trump flags and put away your MAGA hats. Whatever you believe these symbols mean, or *want* them to mean, they […]
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White Siblings, Don’t look away. Don’t avert your eyes. Yes, there is a danger even in reposting these because of the moral license they may give other racists who see them. But you….dear White sibling… You who are still more concerned about property damage and protesting “the right way”… You who every time there is […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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“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 […]
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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 […]
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Heads up, Methodist friends. Pay attention to this news about SMU. What does this mean? Plain and simple, this is not a WCA plot. This IS an attempt by SMU to “protect its assets.” Pure and simple, that’s what this is. And nobody should be surprised by this. Nor should they be surprised that the […]
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Exciting news, friends! I’ve been given an advance copy of a new Bible translation, hitting the market soon. The translation is called the “American Government Standard Version.” (AGSV for short…) The AGSV is a new and carefully sourced translation from the original Hebrew and Greek texts, with one incredibly helpful addition. The texts are also […]
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