“This Woman’s Work” Proverbs 31:10-31 September 23, 2012 First Christian Church Minneapolis, MN I’m taking a risk in preaching this text. The passage in Proverbs about a “capable” wife and as you can tell, I’m a man. Men tend to get into trouble talking about women, especially those of us in the pulpit and... Continue Reading →
Church AND State
I wrote the following in response to a blog post about the United Methodist's General Board of Church in Society: I should start off by saying I’m not a Methodist but a Disciple. I agree with Tom in a sense that some of the bad feelings about agencies like the Board of Church and Society... Continue Reading →
Elizabeth Warren, Mitt Romney and the Common Good (And My Answer Is Not What You Would Expect)
My dear partner and I are a mixed marriage. He's comes from Norwegian and Swedish ancestry, I am African American and Puerto Rican. It's gets better: he's a Democrat and I'm a Republican. This means that we tend to have some interesting talks during election years. Recently, we were talking about the selection of Paul... Continue Reading →
Fear of a Fundamentalist Planet
So quick, what is a Progressive Christian? I can come up with two answers. First, we are a bunch of Democrats who like to go to church and talk about God. Second, we are NOT evangelicals/fundamentalists. One of my favorite site to visit is Patheos. I tend to read from three channels: Progressive Christian, Evangelical... Continue Reading →
I’m Jesus Christ and I Approve This Message.
Well, now the Democrats have finished their convention with leaves me with some more questions. Being probably one of the few Disciples of Christ pastors that is not a Democrat, I tend to observe how my colleagues act. As the Democrats politicked in Charlotte, it was interesting to see how many clergy were so free... Continue Reading →
Some Thoughts on Politics, Partisanship and Christian Witness
As the GOP end their convention in Tampa and the Democrats get ready to gear up in Charlotte next week, I have a few thoughts about Christians and politics: We really take ourselves way to seriously. There was a time in my life when I happened to be far more vocal on where I lean... Continue Reading →
Sunday Sermon: “This Present Darkness”
“This Present Darkness” Epehesians 6:10-20 August 26, 2012 First Christian Church Minneapolis, MN It was sometime after my first year of college, that I read a book that was truly one of those books I couldn’t put down. In fact, a lot of people couldn’t put that book down in that summer of 1988. The... Continue Reading →
Theology and Same-Sex Marriage
In a few weeks, my partner Daniel and I will celebrate five years of marriage. Since we live in Minnesota where same-sex marriage is not legal, it was not something recognized by the state. But our marriage, our joining together, was blessed by the church. We had our ceremony at an Episcopal church in the... Continue Reading →
Repost: Holding Together
The following is from 2008. As the political season heats up, I am reminded of this post and how much things have become worse in the last four years. I've always been a political junkie. I interned for my congressman back in the summer of 1990. What a wonderous time. Here I was, a kid... Continue Reading →
Hate the Sin, Love the Sinner, Yada Yada Yada
"Hate the Sin, Love the Sinner." This is one of those cliches that Christians tend to use (or at least I've heard people use them, I don't remember hearing someone say it) and one Christian in particular doesn't like it. Here's what Christian Piatt (a fellow Disciples of Christ pastor) has to say about this:... Continue Reading →
The Clockwork Pastor 