How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God says Jesus. How hard it is for us who are self-reliant and smug to accept how utterly dependent we are on God. How hard it is for…
In John 6:56-69, Jesus is teaching in the synagogue, and when he’s done a bunch of his followers say, “This teaching is haaaard.” And Jesus is like, “Oh, I’m sorry, does this offend you?” and several of them left right there…
Last Sunday I got a call at 11 a.m. It was Rachel Pater calling from her home town church (denomination to remain unnamed). It took several minutes before she could form a proper sentence through her sobs. Finally in a…
Urban biking is not without peril. Many of my parishioners rely almost exclusively on human-powered transportation and do so while competing for road space with motorized vehicles. As a way of acknowledging the inherent goodness of God’s gifts of life…
If I had a dollar for every person who has asked me “So, what IS the emerging church?” we could meet our budget this year. Here’s my own definition, and it is just that — my definition. Not the definition. This…
I don’t honestly think about “women in ministry issues” a whole lot. I guess I just go about my work not thinking of myself as a female pastor, just a pastor. I have almost never felt directly discounted for being a…
I heard a report on NPR Monday that “The weather in London has now done what the German army could not; the busses have stopped.” The story continued to tell of how Londoners’ choices had been taken from them. Their freedom…
It’s happened twice in as many months: God showing up in an older woman. A stranger offering me her blessing. Not offering it so much as insisting on it, now that I think about it.
“The cheese is gone, someone came in and stole the cheese.”
I looked at Sheralee unsure what this sentence might actually mean as it was not the one I anticipated coming out of this woman’s mouth. Sheralee had found our church…
[Continued from part 1] I began to wonder what the TBN folks would think of me, a heavily tattooed Christian progressive from a liturgical denomination. How would people in their theological camp respond to my preaching? Would they think, as…
To say that Christian television is “not my thing” doesn’t even get close. Christian music, Christian bookstores, Christian television, pretty much any aspect of what some call “the Christian-Industrial Complex” is “not my thing.” Meanwhile, I have a blog called…
Yesterday NPR ran a story about the on going Senate investigation of the so-called Grassley Six; Crefflo and Taffi Dollar, Paula and Randy White, Eddie Long, Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland and Joyce Meyer – prosperity gospel preachers whose 501(c)(3) status is being questioned in light of the Bentleys and Leer jets being [...]
While working on my upcoming book for Seabury Press – Salvation on the Small Screen? 24 Hours of Christian Television, a theological and cultural commentary based on my experience watching 24 consecutive hours of the Trinity Broadcasting Network – I faced the issue of sanctification, sin, and leadership in the church. TBN preacher Paula White said the following on her show: “Sanctification is a progressive process you go from glory to glory to glory.” (And by “progressive,” I don’t [...]
I’m always a bit anxious in new worship environments. As I settle into my plastic chair at New Beginnings Lutheran Church, I realize that now is certainly no different. At least, I think to myself, my cell phone won’t go off in worship; it was confiscated by the guard before I went through the metal detector.
New Beginnings is a congregation on the inside of the Denver Women’s Correctional Facility, and I’ve come with three others from my own community to share in their worship service. [...]
Last Sunday I got a call at 11 a.m. It was Rachel Pater calling from her home town church (denomination to remain unnamed). It took several minutes before she could form a proper sentence through her sobs. Finally in a…
If I had a dollar for every person who has asked me “So, what IS the emerging church?” we could meet our budget this year. Here’s my own definition, and it is just that — my definition. Not the definition. This…
I don’t honestly think about “women in ministry issues” a whole lot. I guess I just go about my work not thinking of myself as a female pastor, just a pastor. I have almost never felt directly discounted for being a…
“The cheese is gone, someone came in and stole the cheese.”
[
Yesterday 
