Musings on Faith, Culture and ADHD
A few weeks ago, I sat down for a beer with a fellow pastor. Actually, I had hard cider- he had the beer. The pastor is theologically conservative and sees me- a gay pastor with an orthodox theology as a bit of an enigma. We had a very good discussion talking about church and life... Continue Reading →
Over and over again, I heard one phrase being used on my side of the same-sex marriage debate: "the right side of history." Yes, most of us who believe in marriage equality do think this is the right thing to do. We liken this current debate in the backdrop of the civil rights movement and... Continue Reading →
I'm an odd duck. I feel like I'm on of the few gay men that isn't angry. I'm not angry that same-sex marriage isn't moving faster. I'm not mad at the evangelical upbringing I had. Heck, I'm not mad that it will be very hard to find another call because I'm gay and many churches... Continue Reading →
The positive Mel White of old the "SpongeBob Squarepants of the gay community" is long gone. What's left is a man that's pretty pissed off at the church and when I say church, I mean the whole church.
My thoughts these days are drifting towards relationships, or the lack thereof in churches. I've been thinking about this in light of a recent blog post on CivilPolitics.org on the dearth of cross-party friendships. The post linked to a longer article in the Chronicle of Higher Education on the issue. The author, Neil Gross notes... Continue Reading →
Last fall, I wrote a blog post about how I've come to respect social conservatives. What I've learned over time is that the view of social conservatives is not so black and white. Here's a little of what I wrote: I’ve met good Christians who are some of the nicest and honorable people and have... Continue Reading →
16 But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to abandon you, to turn back from following after you. Wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. 17 Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May... Continue Reading →
This week's drama over the issue of same-sex marriage at the Supreme Court has been nothing short of historic. American society is at a point that I thought wouldn't come for several years, if not decades. Same sex marriage might be legal in most of the nation in a few short years. Here in Minnesota,... Continue Reading →
This is a sermon from my Community of Grace days. I think my sermon writing is a lot better than it was back then, but the essence of the sermon is still prescient. “Three Beeps Means ‘I Love You’” Micah 6:1-8 January 23, 2005 Community of Grace Christian Church St. Paul, MN I’m going... Continue Reading →
It was about 15 years ago that I saw firsthand how love of enemy and justice for the oppressed clashed with each other. I was in seminary at the time and one Sunday afternoon, I went to a discussion held at a local Lutheran church. The then-Bishop of the St. Paul Area Synod of the... Continue Reading →
The Clockwork Pastor 