This fall, Minnesotans will go to the polls to vote on two constitutional amendments. The first one would ban same-sex marriage and the second one would require photo ids before a person could vote.Now I have my own opinions on the amendments and I'm not shy about sharing them (I'm strongly against the first and... Continue Reading →
Constitutional Amendments and the Church
This fall, Minnesotans will go to the polls to vote on two constitutional amendments. The first one would ban same-sex marriage and the second one would require photo ids before a person could vote. Now I have my own opinions on the amendments and I'm not shy about sharing them (I'm strongly against the first... Continue Reading →
Repost: In the Middle
The following post is from April of 2008. In light of the recent goings on at the United Methodist General Conference, I thought this might be a good post to share again. I've been a mainline Protestant for about 16 years. I grew up in the evangelical and black churches and found the mainline churches... Continue Reading →
Repost: Notes from a Reluctant Liberal Christian
This was originally posted in January 2011.A few years ago, a dear friend of mine described me as an evangelical turned liberal Protestant. I remember blanching at that definition. Politically, I tend to lean more center-right/libertarian. Theologically, I'm pretty orthodox.But the fact is, I am a liberal Protestant these days. I'm ordained into a mainline... Continue Reading →
What Does It Mean to Be Prophetic?
I stumbled across a post by Methodist blogger Allan Bevere on the prophetic nature of the church. He ends to post like this:As I continue to say-- when Christians hear the word "politics" they should not think state; they should think church. For Christians, our politic is church. But that clearly is not what it... Continue Reading →
Ceasar and the Pill, Continued
I didn't mention this in my previous post, but that post grew from something Methodist Pastor Allan Bevere said about the HHS/birth control decision. He explains why he thinks what the Obama Administration did originally (and in its compromise) was so distrubing: I have to say as a mainline Methodist, I really appreciate the irony of... Continue Reading →
Ceasar and the Pill
So, I'm going to treat into the waters of the birth control vs. religious liberty debate that has been going on for a while. I've been wondering how Christians should handle this issue. Now, I tend think birth control is a good idea. Teenage pregnancy is not a good thing and well, women should be... Continue Reading →
Talking Back to the Strawman
As much as I love following and engaging in politics, I've have come to the opinion that politics is nasty business; especially for Christians and especially in these highly polarized times.The diversity of political opinion as well as healthy debate are hallmarks of a democratic society. My mom talks about growing up in her native... Continue Reading →
A Table, A Cross, An Elephant and a Donkey
Christ of the Polls by Stushie.There was a time in my life when I really loved talking about politics. I come from a family where my mother talked about politics constantly and still does. But these days, I don't enjoy politics as much as I used to. I still enjoy and I still blog about... Continue Reading →
Called, Gathered and Sent (Or, Why Mainline Protestants Suck at Church Planting)
I've been what could be considered a Mainline Protestant for 20 years. In those 20 years, I've learned something about mainliners: We really suck at planting churches. Let me back up a moment. I started attending Calvary Baptist Church in located in the Chinatown area of Washington, DC in the fall of 1992. It was... Continue Reading →
The Clockwork Pastor 