Folks my age and younger have been remembering famed children's author Maurice Sendak, who died earlier this week. Everyone is familiar with Where the Wild Things Are, but I wanted to remember Sendak with another story, Pierre, the boy who didn't care. I don't remember reading the story, but I do remember the 1975 TV... Continue Reading →
We Can’t Be Friends
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 were somehow able to worship together, along side a healthy dose of members from Latin America and Asia.The church decided at some... 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: 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 a... Continue Reading →
Leviticus Revisited
Methodist Blogger Morgan Guyton gives the best understanding of what Leviticus 18:22 meant and what it might mean for us today. Here's a snippet:In 1956, United Methodists decided that Paul’s admonition in 1 Timothy 2:12 not to “permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man” had an appropriate application in the... Continue Reading →
Hospitality: Still at the Starting Line
I've been an avid reader of Frederick Schmidt's blog for nearly a year now. I've really enjoyed his columns which urge us to ask what it truly means to follow Jesus in our modern world. Today he takes on some proposed changes in the Episcopal Church. One such proposal asks that communion "ought to be... Continue Reading →
Cross and Kingdom
I just finished Scot McKnight's great book called the King Jesus Gospel and I've started reading N.T. Wright's book How God Became King. Both deal with what the Gospels are really all about though from different theological traditions; McKnight from an evangelical perspective and Wright from a more Mainline Protestant view. McKnight has some good... Continue Reading →
Paul Ryan, Mother Teresa and Satan
There's been a lot of talk lately, criticism really, about the budget released by Republican Congressman Paul Ryan. I wrote on my political blog about a year ago that I thought it wasn't a perfect budget and even had some problems with it, but that it was a good start by the GOP. Then as... Continue Reading →
Repost: Aspie Reflections: What Do You Do With An MDiv?
The following post is from May 2008, just after I received my Aspergers diagnosis. One of things I was thinking of back then is how to be a pastor with autism. I don't think I have the answers today, but I think I'm a bit more confident that God does have a place for me... Continue Reading →
Making a Case for Being Open and Affirming
The church where I'm the Associate Pastor (First Christian Church in Minneapolis) is considering becoming an official Open and Affirming Congregation in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The congregation has a long history of welcoming gay and lesbian folk into the life of the congregation, so in many ways they have been a living... Continue Reading →
The Clockwork Pastor 