Cody McMahan

January 30, 2023.Reading time 7 minutes.

Cody McMahan died Saturday. I had the privilege of knowing Cody for perhaps 15-20 years….I believe I’ve lost count. I believe I first met him when Cody was still a member of Greenland Hills UMC. He later joined Northaven, and still later started dating and eventually married Mike House. One of the high honors of […]

Christmas and Shit

December 25, 2022.Reading time 13 minutes.

It’s Christmas Day, and so it’s the perfect day to talk about shit. I’ve probably already lost some of you, because you don’t think preachers are supposed to use such words. But for those who aren’t already writing my Bishop (feel free) read along…. Artists can get away with such words better than preachers. That’s […]

I am going down with the ship.

June 25, 2022.Reading time 9 minutes.

“I am going down with the ship.” I can’t speak for everyone. I can only speak for me. I can’t fault any other choice anyone else might make.All I am saying is: If Texas goes down, I’m going down with it.To the bitter end. I’m here to stay and I’m ready to fight. Ever since […]

White American Christianity’s Tribal Flaw

June 17, 2022.Reading time 15 minutes.

“Indeed, an hour is coming when those who kill you will think that by doing so they are offering worship to God.”— John 16:2 “When your icon of the enemy is completeyou will be able to kill without guilt,slaughter without shame.The thing you destroy will have becomemerely an enemy of God, an impedimentto the sacred […]

Open Letter To Our Pride Flag Vandal

June 8, 2022.Reading time 3 minutes.

To the Pride Flag Vandal, I don’t know who you are. I don’t know your motivations. I don’t know why you chose to cut down our KPUMC Pride Flag from the flagpole on our property. But I thought I’d write you a short note today. Please know that we, the members and staff of Kessler […]

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 […]

Has Homosexual Always Been in the Bible?

October 9, 2019.Reading time 3 minutes.

In our Methodist tradition, we (wrongly) claim “the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching.” The research behind this story tells us: That does not appear to be true. We are lying to ourselves about what historical Biblical teaching actually said. Before we get into it, and for those who are confused….there’s an old […]

Jesse Jackson Had It Right

August 7, 2019.Reading time 52 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 […]

Realism, Not Cold Water

June 8, 2019.Reading time 5 minutes.

Realism, not cold water. That is my message to all my friends in Metho-nerd land today. For the past two weeks, we’ve had the breaking news of General Conference delegate elections from all across the country. It is fair to call it a “wave election,” toward the Moderate-Progressive side. It’s STUNNING in some places. My […]

An Historic Annual Conference

June 5, 2019.Reading time 8 minutes.

Let me provide a bit of context for the past few days in the North Texas Conference. It’s just my one perspective on what felt like an extraordinary few days. (So, take it or leave it…) First, the NTC ordained the first openly lesbian woman in the South. (Meaning: In any conference in the Southeastern […]