Category: Living Our Faith

A lot of Christians I meet understand their faith as a series of truth claims, whatever, “truth,” might mean to them. They receive a checklist of doctrinal agreements that give them some kind of assurance that their faith is figured out for them. Like the preflight instructions on your next plane trip, the installation instructions… Continue reading Faith Should Be Uncomfortable

I’ve worked for many out-of-control tech companies either as a marketing executive or as an outside consultant. I’m sure most of corporate America suffers from disfunction, but tech is especially plagued by poor communicators, scope creep, contradictory goals, rash decision making and micromanagement. In that kind of environment, aggressive behavior is common and even rises… Continue reading Staying Calm

In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s murder, right wing Christians completely lost their minds and went overboard with tributes. The fact that I have to say this is indicative of the witless world we live in today: Charlie Kirk’s murder was a horrific event that should never have happened, and all Christians should condemn violence.… Continue reading Where Are Your Prayer Vigils Now?

MIDWAY upon the journey of our lifeI found myself within a forest dark,For the straightforward pathway had been lost. The opening lines to Dante’s Divine Comedy as translated by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow When I first read those words they rang through the deepest piano strings of my soul with sympathetic harmonic reverberance. Those words described… Continue reading Dante’s Embrace of Suffering, or How Dante Saved Me from a Midlife Crisis

When is the last time you bowed down to a golden calf? Probably not that recently if at all. Idolatry isn’t really about that; it’s about letting something besides God define you. It’s about identifying with something that isn’t the ultimate concern. I need only look at my own bank account because I trust my… Continue reading Exposing Idolatry Wherever It Hides

Let’s be clear: the United States has systematically failed its marginalized communities from the very beginning of its history. This isn’t up for debate—it’s a fundamental truth that must be confronted. I have no patience for people who think that diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs are somehow unjust or represent reverse discrimination against straight,… Continue reading Fighting DEI Is Unchristian

I have grown weary of “both-sides-ism.” I hear it in a lot in phrases like, “all politicians are greedy and evil,” or “why are you only complaining about Republican policies?” While I agree that many politicians conflate their personal interests with that of the country – don’t we all? – there is a big difference… Continue reading The Power of Christocentric Preaching in a Divided World

I often wonder why people are Christian at all if they aren’t going to be radicals. You say you want to follow a wandering Jewish mystic who preached against empire, yet you argue for American exceptionalism? You’ve pledged to pick up your cross, yet you won’t fight ICE deportations? You claim you died and were… Continue reading The Scandal of Jesus: Reclaiming the Radical Message of Christianity

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