Category: Living Our Faith

In Matthew 7 Jesus kicks off his warnings about judgment with the words, “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged.” He then goes on to warn about seeing specks in your neighbor’s eye while ignoring the log in your own. Through the years, I’ve understood this in various layers. Jesus often talks… Continue reading Freedom From Judgement

I’ve been going to church for longer than the Simpsons have been on the air, longer than the widespread use of the World Wide Web, longer than people have been playing an Atari 2600. I’m old. And I can’t remember a pastor preaching on the beginning of James 5. James 5:1-6 Come now, you rich… Continue reading Come Now, You Rich People

Fascism has arrived in the United States, and I refuse to be complicit. If I sound like an alarmist to you, it is because we are in a five-alarm fire right now. I’d like to thank David Artman for turning me on to Jason Stanley’s book, “How Fascism Works,” and helping all of us Jesus… Continue reading The Time For Christians to Fight Fascism is Right Now

I’m thinking a lot about the cross lately. The obvious reason is that we are entering Holy Week. One of my best friends built a 12-foot, 350 pound cross with his father that we hang from our church rafters each Lenten season. It’s ruggedly beautiful, inspires deep contemplation and is impossible to ignore. It reminds… Continue reading Just Do It

Lately I’ve heard rumblings about how mainline pastors are talking too much about politics. I must be reading and listening to a different set of pastors – and these days you have an overwhelming wealth of options online to choose from – but I don’t hear outright political messages. I hear messages against the cruelty… Continue reading Too Much Politics?

I’d love for you to take a deep breath right now. The world has lost its mind. But this is nothing new. In fact, after that deep breath and before you proceed to read below, I’d like you to read Psalm 73. Didn’t that feel like it could’ve been written this week? The world has… Continue reading Is There Knowledge in the Most High?

We’ve entered a special time in America under the Trump regime. It’s a time of complete regression as those in power seek to set us back by decades in terms of social justice, environmental protections and civil rights. It’s a time of despair as we see all three branches of government acting together to erode… Continue reading Finding Forgiveness Through Empathy and Humility

I recently wrote about how I believe the Bible fully supports inclusion for transgender people. I used Isaiah 56 as support. In this chapter, God commands Israel to welcome the foreigner and the eunuch into temple worship. Because transgendered people are under attack right now, I spent the majority of the article writing about them.… Continue reading There are No Immigrants on Earth

I recently wrote some simple thoughts about Christian universalism and mentioned that a question I get a lot when I share my universalist beliefs is, “then why even be a Christian?” That always strikes me as strange and transactional, but the fact that I get this question from both believers and secularists makes me think… Continue reading What An Atheist Friend Taught Me About Church