Musings on Faith, Culture and ADHD
This past week, the Presbyterian Church (USA) meeting in Detroit, approved pastors being able to marry same sex partners in states where same sex marriage is legal. According to Presbyterian polity, it still has to get the approval of the majority of presbyteries (there are 172) before it becomes the law. Judging Facebook and Twitter... Continue Reading →
I haven't followed the news about Methodist minister Frank Schaefer as closely as I should have. For those who know even less, Frank Schaefer faced a church trail for going against the Book of Discipline by marrying two men (one of who happened to be his son). What I do know about the affair has... Continue Reading →
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 →
There are folks who tend to focus on the "numbers" taking place in Mainline Protestantism with concern. One example is an article written in 1987 by William Willomon and Robert Wilson. They looked at the numbers and didn't like what they see: The Methodist and the Evangelical United Brethren Churches each began to experience a... Continue Reading →
Things are not going well in American Mainline Protestantism. Despite all the talk about how religious progressives are winning the day over the Religious Right, I tend to see a tradition that is in decline. I see churches closing- the remaining members too tired to continue. I see churches that are still going on, uncertain... Continue Reading →
Just a bit of a warning here: I'm about to go all "get off my lawn" in this post. I guess at 43 I do earn the right to be the cranky middle aged guy. What's getting stuck in my craw lately is the perceived lack of enthusiasm for the continuance of the mainline/progressive/liberal church. ... Continue Reading →
First off, welcome to all the new visitors who saw my post on Freshly Pressed. Below is a post from last year. It was about 20 years ago, that I attended a large Baptist church in Washington, DC. The church was an odd mix, or at least it would be odd today. Evangelicals and liberals... Continue Reading →
A Presbyterian Pastor reflects on the British Science fiction series Dr. Who as a modern fairy tale about fighting monsters and then relates that to Jesus: I remember after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 how much I wanted to just march into Afghanistan or Iraq or anywhere really, and just blow things up. I wanted... Continue Reading →
Ever since it appeared a few weeks ago, I've been thinking about John Vest's blog post called "The Vine is Dying." The Presbyterian pastor from Chicago has been involved in finding ways to help the Presbyterian Church (USA) rebound after decades of decline and his February 27 post was one borne of frustration with the... Continue Reading →
Anyone who's read this blog knows I tend to be critical of mainline Christianity. It's not that I want to leave what has been my theological home for two decades; it's that I get frustrated at some of it's shortcomings. Despite all of that, mainline/progressive/liberal Christianity is my home. As much as I respect my... Continue Reading →
The Clockwork Pastor 