Why we need to move from affirmation to discipleship for LGBTQ people.
Open, Affirming and Following
Sermon: The Gospel Is Inclusive
Photo by Gotta Be Worth It on Pexels.com Third Sunday in Lent | John 4:5-42 | March 12, 2023 | Dennis Sanders, preaching It was nearly 8 years ago that First Christian Church of St. Paul made a decision to become an Open and Affirming Congregation. That means that we openly welcome LGBTQ people into... Continue Reading →
Are We A Progressive Church?
Is First Christian a progressive congregation? The answer is complex.
Vespers: Happy Pride
What do LGBTQ people mean when they talk about pride?
Love Don’t Live Here Anymore
Well, the Special General Conference for the United Methodist Church is done. For those of us who are LGBTQ and allies, the result was shocking and hurtful.
Eugene Peterson and the Age of Shibboleths
I don't know when it happened, but I've become a walking, talking shibboleth. A shibboleth is a word or custom that signifies who is in the ingroup and who is in the outgroup. Think of it as an old fashioned version of virtue signaling. Now, I didn't personally become a shibboleth, but the fact that... Continue Reading →
Sermon: Sanctuary
Romans 11:1-2 and 13-24 Fifth Sunday After Pentecost June 19, 2016 First Christian Church Mahtomedi, MN Listen to the sermon. I was in track in high school. We would have practice after school and I remember going into the locker room to change. Everytime I would pass by a training room that was for people... Continue Reading →
First Comes Marriage, then Comes Grace
Well, it finally happened. After a decade or so of amendments, court challenges, referreudum and the like, same sex marriage is now legal accross the United States. The 5-4 decision by the Supreme Court was a momentous day for many LGBT Americans, myself included. Of course, this news is personal for me. Like a lot... Continue Reading →
The New Orthodoxy and Me
For the last few years, I've been impressed with a growing number of writers and bloggers, mostly from Methodist circles, but from some other traditions as well who seem to be carrying the Neo-Orthodox/Post-Liberal banner that had seem somewhat dormant for a while. I've been attracted to this stream of Protestantism after finding both evangelicalism... Continue Reading →
Tiny Violins
Some of the responses to to a recent post as well as some extra reading has me back at the keyboard again to share something thoughts about this rapidly changing situation in Indiana. I want to focus on one issue in particular: the demand by social conservatives to push for tolerance . So here goes.... Continue Reading →
The Clockwork Pastor 