Musings on Faith, Culture and ADHD
Luke 15:1-10 Seventeenth Sunday of Pentecost September 15, 2013 First Christian Church Mahtomedi, MN It started with a sense of not feeling right. I was sitting in my studio apartment in Minneapolis watching the Simpsons in November of 1996. I had moved to Minnesota 10 months earlier and was able to secure a job at... Continue Reading →
I need to start off by saying that I don't tend to read much from the Institute for Religion and Democracy, even though I probably agree with them on some issues. As much as I gripe about my home within Mainline Protestantism, I'm not much for those who tear down with no intent to build... Continue Reading →
This is my first Sermon as Stated Supply Pastor at First Christian Church in Mahtomedi, MN. “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” Luke 14: 25-33 Sixteenth Sunday of Pentecost September 8, 2013 First Christian Church Mahtomedi, MN One day when large groups of people were walking along with him, Jesus turned and told them, “Anyone who... Continue Reading →
Here's the week's lectionary reflection. Come Sunday: "Part-Time Lover" (September 8, 2013).
In the fictional universe of "Star Trek," there is a policy that all members of Starfleet must follow: the Prime Directive. The policy basically states that Starfleet can't intervene in the internal affairs of alien civilizations. Not surprisingly, when the policy faces real life situations, there are arguments for and against following the Prime Directive. ... Continue Reading →
I really don't get White Privilege. Let me backup. I do get how black people, are treated differently than whites. I do get that after centuries of legal racism that it will take a while for those preferences to go away. But what I don't get is how this all matters and how it will... Continue Reading →
There are folks who tend to focus on the "numbers" taking place in Mainline Protestantism with concern. One example is an article written in 1987 by William Willomon and Robert Wilson. They looked at the numbers and didn't like what they see: The Methodist and the Evangelical United Brethren Churches each began to experience a... Continue Reading →
From Homebrewed Christianity: We have a problem: On the one hand, the union-like conditions for leading in Mainline churches, i.e. “having to put in one’s dues,” seems to stifle any creative means of formulating new ways to interact with one’s culture. You might even say that processes such as ordination are less about learning to... Continue Reading →
If Jesus was not who he said he was, friends, then you and I should get down to the registrar’s office and get our money back. I can teach you all how to tell fairy tales for a lot less than $11,000 a semester. I can sit down with a sick woman and listen to... Continue Reading →
Things are not going well in American Mainline Protestantism. Despite all the talk about how religious progressives are winning the day over the Religious Right, I tend to see a tradition that is in decline. I see churches closing- the remaining members too tired to continue. I see churches that are still going on, uncertain... Continue Reading →
The Clockwork Pastor 