Faithful, Patriotic And Progressive

July 29, 2016.Reading time 16 minutes.

Perhaps a decade ago now, I got a call from a reporter with The Dallas Morning News who was working on a story, and wanted to interview me. The story was on the so-called rise of “Progressive Christian Churches.” We talked on the phone for about an hour. She sent a photographer to the church […]

Written Down in Blood and Ink

May 23, 2016.Reading time 12 minutes.

“Place these words I’m speaking on your heart and in your very being. Tie them on your hand as a sign.” Deuteronomy 11:16 I pulled the trigger. I got my tattoo. As I’ve been threatening to do for months now, I got the words “Fear Not” in Biblical Greek inked on my left inside forearm. […]

Let It Be

April 14, 2016.Reading time 3 minutes.

I believe sometimes our loved ones visit us in dreams, after they are gone. This happened to me when I was about ten. Just after my grandfather Frankie died, I dreamed he drove down to Dallas in the 1965 Mustang that, in the waking world, would eventually become mine. He woke us up and gathered […]

Dear American Christians

April 3, 2015.Reading time 5 minutes.

Dear American Christians, You need to get a grip, and I am tired of speaking to you politely. You are not being persecuted by being required to serve all customers in your store. If you serve all people in your store, you are simply being American. As a fellow Christian, I can assure you, your […]

A Tale of Two Women (Why I am Pro-Choice)

July 13, 2013.Reading time 26 minutes.

Although I blog about a lot of things, I’ve never written much about abortion or about why I am fundamentally “Pro-Choice.” But my friend Rev. Jim Rigby, a minister from Austin, asked yesterday for clergy who are Pro-Choice to sign their name to statement. I was please to stand with many other Texas clergy who […]

Because You Were Once an Alien (Immigration and Faith)

May 4, 2010.Reading time 39 minutes.

Last Saturday, I had the great honor of participating in the second MegaMarch here in Dallas, Texas. Twenty or so Northaveners(1a), and a few friends from the North Texas Conference, joined our voices with the 56,000-plus folks who gathered in downtown.(1) (Myself and old friend, Rev. Gerald Britt, just before the march began) (People in […]

Credo-bytes

June 25, 2005.Reading time 18 minutes.

This is an ever-expanding list of quotable quotes that shape my belief and life. It’s long. But spend a little time here. I promise there are gems you’ve never heard before. EF “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your […]