“In God We Trust” Mark 10:17-31 Twentieth Sunday After Pentecost October 14, 2012 First Christian Church Minneapolis, MN I will admit it: I really don’t like this passage. Why don’t I like it? For a lot of reasons. I don’t like how people sometimes use this passage to lord over others. People who are full... 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 →
Repost:Why Theology Matters
We are going waaay back on this one to 2005. In the mail today, I recieved a mailing from the Disciples Peace Fellowship, the peace and justice caucus within my denomination, The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The newsletter had a quote that struck me. It said: "No amount of theology about God and the... Continue Reading →
Saving Liberal Christianity
On the heels of what I wrote late last week on the pitfalls of Progressive Christianity, there has been a flurry of articles on the future of liberal Christianity. I want to start off with a piece by Allan Bevere who wrote the following last Friday: In recent years evangelical Protestantism has been going through a... Continue Reading →
On Funerals and Christian Cliches
This past weekend, I was in Orlando, Florida for the funeral of an uncle. My Uncle David was the youngest of my mother's siblings dying at the age of sixty. Diabetes took it's toll on David's body and finally that body gave out. David leaves behind a grieving widow and five children, three of which... Continue Reading →
Regarding Sharon Watkins’ Pastoral Letter
Last week, Sharon Watkins, the General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) released a pastoral letter regarding the denomination's stance on homosexuality. It was sent to all churches in the denomination and late last week, a letter came to the church where I serve as Associate Pastor. You can read the... Continue Reading →
Sermon: Water is Thicker Than Blood
“Water is Thicker Than Blood”Mark 3: 20-35 and 2 Corinthians 4:13 - 5:1June 10, 2012First Christian ChurchMinneapolis, MNEarlier this year, I chaperoned my parents as we travled to Puerto Rico so that my mother could see her relatives. It was a good trip, I got to see my Uncle Salvador who still doing well in... Continue Reading →
Shower the People
The pastor of a Disciples of Christ congregation in Colorado shows another way to help a church turnaround from decline: simply love the people: When I came to Mountair I had a close friend tell me to do nothing but love people for a year. I didn’t like that advice much. I saw so many... Continue Reading →
Trinity Sunday Sermon: "Come to the Table"
With Trinity Sunday coming up, I decided to share a sermon I gave on Trinity Sunday 2009. “Come to the Table”Isaiah 6:1-8, John 3:1-17June 7, 2009Trinity SundayFirst Christian ChurchMinneapolis, MNA few months ago, my partner Daniel and I were invited to have high tea. A friend of mine this in an auction and she invited... Continue Reading →
“Being There” (Version Two)
I will let you in on a little secret. This is actually the second version of the sermon I preached on Pentecost. I had written one sermon and it just didn't work for the situation. So, with about 40 minutes to spare before the service, I made some major edits. So, here is the second... Continue Reading →