Don’t Look Away

June 3, 2020.Reading time 4 minutes.

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 […]

Jesus Is Lord, Caesar Is Not (Part II)

June 2, 2020.Reading time 16 minutes.

“I don’t know about that…” Do you even remember when Donald Trump said this? I know. It’s a big ask to recall one line. He says so many things, and one day’s horror is “trumped” by the next. But it’s important to remember this specific line this morning, as we try to process Donald Trump’s […]

White Privilege

May 28, 2020.Reading time 13 minutes.

My struggle to adequately describe the murder of George Floyd ended when I saw this picture late last night. Take a hard look at this picture, because if you let it sink in deeply it will help you see much of what is wrong with America today. One frame: Armed protestors, effectively taking over 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+, […]

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 […]

Let’s Help Jesus Not Throw Up

October 25, 2019.Reading time 11 minutes.

“If Jesus came back, and saw what’s going on in his name, he’d never stop throwing up.” — Woody Allen What am I supposed to do with the fact that, apparently, Robert Jeffress and Woody Allen agree with one another? Besides being men who —many believe— carry sexual secrets, what else do these two have […]

Thoughts on Today’s #TrumpRally

October 17, 2019.Reading time 5 minutes.

I want to follow up on my prayer of a little earlier, and talk a bit about today. My prayer earlier was: Dear God, May everyone in our city be safe and may the day be violence free. Amen. #TrumpDallasRally For many of us in Dallas, given our history, we hold our breath any time […]

Jesse Jackson Had It Right

August 7, 2019.Reading time 57 minutes.

I voted for Ronald Reagan twice to be president.The next time I could vote, I voted for Jesse Jackson. If I was to write the story of my spiritual, social, and political transformation in two short sentences, those two would be it. Those two sentences are the metaphor for a social transformation that continues inside […]

An Open Letter to Reverend Robert Jeffress:

May 13, 2019.Reading time 7 minutes.

An Open Letter to Reverend Robert Jeffress: This morning, again I preached from one of the many passages where religious leaders try to trick Jesus with his words. (John 10: 22-30…It was the suggested “Lectionary” text for this Sunday, in my Methodist tradition…) Time and time again, as you are undoubtedly aware, this theme recurs […]

White Men and Yearbooks

February 11, 2019.Reading time 11 minutes.

The following is a list of pictures of me in my High School and College yearbooks from the 1980s, excluding the standard yearly posed picture… — Picture of me at a Young Life meeting… — Picture of me at Key Club formal, with the other officers, in a dapper all-white tux… — Picture of me […]