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 →
Being Gay at Liberty University
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 →
Ashes to Ashes…We All Fall Down.
Like many people, I've been rather surprised to hear that Oscar Pistorius has been charged with the murder of his girlfriend. The South African athelete, who is a double amputee, is known as "Blade Runner" for his carbon fiber legs and his speed. Pistorius was a symbol that persons with disabilities can achieve great feats,... Continue Reading →
God Doesn’t Love the One Percent.
I have a mixed relationship with Mary's Magnificat found in Luke 1. On the one hand it is a wonderful message of justice; that the lowly in life will be vindicated and remembered by God. I love singing the song A Canticle of the Turning by Rory Cooney. But the text also is bothersome to... Continue Reading →
You Really Don’t Want a Wild Jesus. Trust Me.
If there's something that I've grown tired of is the whole trend in American Christianity to be "radical." We don't want some meek and mild Jesus; no sir. We want a Jesus who is kicking ass and takin' names.
A Pastoral Letter on the Marriage Amendment
I wrote the following for the church newsletter regarding the proposed Minnesota Marriage Amendment which would limit marriage to one man and one woman. The thrust of this letter was to share why I stood where I stood, but do it (hopefully) in a spirit of respect towards those I disagree with. I love chatting... Continue Reading →
I Miss the Old Mel White
I recently read an interview with Rev. Mel White. Most of you know him as someone who grew up as an evangelical, was a ghostwriter for many big evangelical stars and then came out as gay. I remember hearing about him in the mid-to-late 90s and back then he was kind of the SpongeBob Squarepants... Continue Reading →
Autism and Grace
Rod Dreher, who has a son who is also autistic, wrote a post called the "Gift of Autism," and he said he wrote that title with some trepidation.As someone who is autistic, I can understand that. I know the common thing among those of us who are autistic is to talk about how wonderful being... Continue Reading →
The Problems With Following Jesus
I finally finished reading Andrew Sullivan's Holy Week essay on Christianity in Crisis. There's a lot of think about in this article, so I have a list of what questions came to mind as a read this.We really can't know Jesus without the church. Sullivan seems to think there is the pure Jesus out there... Continue Reading →
Remember You Are Dust…
Ten years ago during Ash Wednesday of 2002, I was a chaplain at Luther Hall in Minneapolis. Luther Hall was what you would probably call a nursing home, though the people there were at various stages in their lives; some were transitioning from surgery, back to home or to another facility; but some were there... Continue Reading →