Because I draft my blogs about a month before I publish—an author’s convention aimed somewhat unsuccessfully at preventing embarrassment and regret from hastily penned screeds—I am writing this mere days after a failed assassination attempt on Donald Trump. If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you’ll know that I am very progressive. It won’t… Continue reading On A Recent Reminder of Bonhoeffer’s Costly Grace
Category: Living Our Faith
Only One Who Has Failed Can Find a New Way to Win
2 Corinthians 12:9 but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” So I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. A good while ago a good friend who is also a pastor texted me… Continue reading Only One Who Has Failed Can Find a New Way to Win
Healing Our Separation from God
I am haunted by the creation story. It’s not that I believe in the literal six-day creation or even an actual place called the garden of Eden. What amazes me about the story of the garden and our fall – our original occasion for sin – is that sin is the recognition that we are… Continue reading Healing Our Separation from God
Your Christian Voting Guide
Note: I write my posts about a month prior to publishing. I point this out because this post could be seen as a response to the terrible news of the assassination attempt on Former President Donald Trump. It is not. While I condemn any violence at all, the news really changes nothing about my thoughts… Continue reading Your Christian Voting Guide
A Faintly Glimmering Radio Station
I play MusicLeague with members of my family and their friends. The Cake song, “Frank Sinatra,” made one of the playlists. It hit me hard — Cake wrote a song about how quaint Frank Sinatra records were for them and now almost 30 years later, Cake is quaint to GenZ. The chronological distance that my… Continue reading A Faintly Glimmering Radio Station
“Thou,” Your Enemy
I used to be attracted to process theology, I think because it was the first philosophy that opened my eyes to an alternate theology beyond the basic American fundamentalism you so commonly read about in the socials. I also appreciated its attempts to address theodicy or the problem of suffering and evil. There certainly must… Continue reading “Thou,” Your Enemy
Surprise: Welcoming Statements Make People Feel Welcome
This won’t be a long, theologically opinionated and rambling post like most of my screeds. I just wanted to share some recent research that shows that welcoming statements and welcoming symbols on church websites make people feel more welcome. Isn’t that amazing? Naturally, LGBTQ+ people feel more welcome and affirmed in churches that are welcoming… Continue reading Surprise: Welcoming Statements Make People Feel Welcome
Talking to Other Christians About LGBTQ+ Inclusion
I’ve been a progressive Christian for as long as I’ve been an adult Christian. So, it is surprising to me how many other Christians struggle with LGBTQ+ inclusion. I’m in my own bubble. There are a lot of my beliefs that I understand other Christians might find heretical, such as my ideas on universal salvation,… Continue reading Talking to Other Christians About LGBTQ+ Inclusion
Reconqui-whatnow?
So I just learned about this ultraconservative movement called Operation Reconquista. I refuse to link to them here and give them any Google love but you can look them up on your own. The theology on their site is shallow, unlettered and so inartfully expressed that I first thought it was satire or perhaps it… Continue reading Reconqui-whatnow?
My Personal Chaplet
I always tell people that I am “little-c Catholic.” Of course, we all are, in the sense of belonging to the body of Christ. But I also mean that while I don’t think I could ever convert to Catholicism, I have a deep respect for the history, tradition, magisterium and practices of the Catholic and… Continue reading My Personal Chaplet