Musings on Faith, Culture and ADHD
When I think about the recent horrific shooting of young Ralph Yarl, a young black man who went to the wrong house to pick up his siblings and was shot by an elderly white man, my thoughts go to a similar experience I went through growing up and also to my late elderly father. Let me... Continue Reading →
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 →
One of the ironic things about me is that two of my favorite holidays are civil and not religious: Independence Day and Thanksgiving. In the circles that I run in, those two holidays are also the most fraught because of America's ....complex history when it comes to the treatment of African Americans and Native Americans.... Continue Reading →
Galatians 1:13-17; 2:15-21 and Luke 18:9-14 Sixth Sunday of Easter Losing My Religion Sermon Series May 21, 2016 First Christian Church Mahtomedi, MN Click here to listen to the audio. It’s been about two years since our congregation voted to become an Open and Affirming congregation, meaning that we openly welcome Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and... Continue Reading →
“Trouble in Lake Wobegone” Luke 10:25-37 and Romans 14:1-18 Seventh Sunday After Pentecost July 10, 2016 First Christian Church Mahtomedi, MN Listen to the Sermon. It could have been me. That is what I thought early Thursday morning, as I groggily woke and checked Facebook. There were some news reports of a police shooting... Continue Reading →
I've been wanting to write something about some problems my own denomination is facing, but I've never been able to focus on that. I think the reason is that my brain is stuffed with anxiety about several issues. One thing you have to understand about me is that anxiety has long been a part of... Continue Reading →
Social media is abuzz in the recent trial that convicted former Stanford student Brock Turner of the rape of a young woman. What has everyone talking is the fact that the judge gave Turner a six month sentence and he might get out sooner for good behavior. To pour more gasoline on the fire, Turner's... Continue Reading →
A post from 2013. I sure loves me some Maria Dixon. Dixon is a Methodist and decided to share he thoughts about the whole Paula Deen affair and decided to take Progressive Christians to task for their selective grace: When it comes to discussing race, progressives have little tolerance for intolerance–past or present. We throw... Continue Reading →
There is one word that has been batted around lately that I would like to see being used less. That word is "privilege." Actually, what I want to see used less is a more specific application of privilege. It has been used in issues dealing with race to talk about the invisible ways that whites... Continue Reading →
My post last night bothered me a bit, partially because I don't think I did a good job of explaining myself. Chalk it up to lateness of the hour and dealing with a cat that was trying to use my laptop as warming pad. So, I wanted to offer another post to share some thought... Continue Reading →
The Clockwork Pastor 