Open Letter to Gov. Abbott (re: Cleveland shootings)

May 2, 2023.Reading time 3 minutes.

Dear Gov Abbott, I am writing you as a Christian pastor, and calling out your inclusion of the phrase “illegal immigrant” in your tweet regarding the senseless murders of five innocent people in Cleveland, Texas. I would remind you how our common faith in Jesus Christ insists that “In Christ there is no Jew or […]

What Will YOU do?

August 31, 2019.Reading time 5 minutes.

As we crossed back to the US yesterday, I snapped this first pic of a sign placed by Border Patrol: “CPB Welcomes Your Comments.” We had just spent time listening to the stories of migrants camped out on the Mexican side. Cubans. Hondurans. Salvadorans and Guatemalans. All of them have been pushed back across our […]

What Do We Do With the Case of Francisco?

July 24, 2019.Reading time 11 minutes.

Dear White Friends, Can we talk again?I can’t shake the story of Francisco Erwin Galicia. He’s the 18-year-old American citizen that was detained for almost a month by Border Patrol and ICE. I can’t shake the story, because it play directly into a narrative that I have been preaching about for perhaps a decade now…that […]

A Wall of Lies

January 8, 2019.Reading time 8 minutes.

The President and his administration are *lying* when they claim there’s a “crisis” at the border. The President and his administration are *lying* about the alleged “facts” they use to justify this fake “crisis.” Many observers suggest these lies could be used to declare a so-called “state of emergency” (which would be another lie), and […]

More on Moral Licensing

November 1, 2018.Reading time 10 minutes.

I want to circle back around to the concept of “Moral Licensing” and what’s happening in our world. While I’ve said a lot the past few days, I probably didn’t have the laser-focus I could have in what I said. So, a bit more….and first, some rapid-fire facts….things that cannot, or should not, be disputed […]

Enemy-Making in a Time of Peace

October 30, 2018.Reading time 19 minutes.

If I had one book that I could force everyone in the world to read (and I know that I cannot…) it would be Sam Keen’s “Faces of the Enemy.” Besides the Bible, it’s hard to name a single book that has had a more profound impact on my life. I reread it often. I […]

The Story at the Door

December 23, 2016.Reading time 10 minutes.

Sometimes the whole story of our faith, our culture, and this great political divide between us all is made manifest in small moments that speak to you…small moments that tell big stories. That happened to me as I stood at the door after worship on Sunday. One of the very first couples of shake my […]

Quick Thoughts On Today’s Non-Violent Witness

July 31, 2014.Reading time 7 minutes.

We are safe. We are healthy. All is well. Today’s action went incredibly well, any way you choose to look at it. More than 100 faith leaders (Many clergy. Even Bishops) chose to be arrested at the White House, as a witness against our nation’s treatment of immigrants, calling the President and Congress to act. […]

Remembering the Bullet Holes

July 31, 2014.Reading time 4 minutes.

Today’s #TBT is this picture from 2005. It was taken on our mission trip that year, to visit our friends at Maria Madre de los Pobres Church in San Salvador. In case it’s not clear, the picture is a bullet hole. It’s a bullet hole in the parish house wall. It’s a bullet hole you […]

Calling Our Nation To Do More On Immigration

July 29, 2014.Reading time 5 minutes.

A reflection from Dr. Owen Ross and Rev. Eric Folkerth: Tomorrow, the two of us will travel to Washington DC to take part in a non-violent action to support just treatment of immigrants by our government and people. More than 150 clergy will join us from across the United States, as we make our witness, […]