The irony of all those Jesus flags in the midst of the chaos and destruction is the very truth it proclaims: Jesus does, in fact, save. He is, in fact, the way--when other ways lead to death. He is still truth; when other ways are littered with conspiracy, lies, and misinformation. When those who raise that flag act in ways that counter its benediction, we are called to the work of reclaiming its truth. Read more
If your old holiday standards aren't quite cutting it this year, there are others that hold extra layers of meaning as we come to the end of this long, strange year. Read more
In these days that feel like the same day, spinning itself out over and over again, we've maybe even forgotten what extraordinary feels like. We scarcely remember that something startlingly beautiful, maybe even miraculous, can pass by our door without warning. Read more
You'll hear a lot of religious extremists these days talking about the end times- God coasting down with an entourage of horsemen and a lot of fire and fury (sometimes the biblical is cinematic in its own way); but that's not what this particular ending is about. We are just witnessing a falling away. And that, really, is what the season of Advent has always been about. It's just that most years, we bury it in presents, activities, and happy jingle-jangle that we start singing right around Halloween. This year- maybe it's down to just the falling away. And how we are left with the reckoning. Read more
I am the laziest holiday decorator in the world. Christmas is the only season for which I even make a humble attempt, and my decor collection is a hodgepodge of stuff I’ve gathered over the years: things I’ve found at thrift stores; a few things I’ve paid actual money for; things my kids made; and mostly, gifts from beloved church folks from across my ministry years. Somehow it all comes together and is exactly right, exactly us– but I promise... Read more
Racism is the real emergency. What if we truly addressed systemic racial injustice with the urgency that we would a coming flood or fire? What if we all dropped everything to ensure that all of our neighbors were safe? What if this became the one thing that was at the center of everything for awhile? Read more
Few people in the world have used their voice of dissent as effectively as she did. Granted, her 'I dissent' carried a heft that few of us possess. But never think for a moment that our own voices, combined with the weight of a few others--or a few hundred, or a few thousand others-- does not hold the same transformation potential: to bring about progress, and the fullness of life for many. Read more
100 years from now/ they will sit in churches/ and worship in wide circles/wearing masks as Sunday best. Read more
A church desert is a place where your choices of worshipping community are limited. It's not that there aren't churches there. Lord knows, small towns and rural areas often have more than their fair per-capita share of steepled buildings and changeable letter signs. The problem is that those churches might not be what you're looking for; diversity of belief is a rarity. Just like the small grocery store that sells only convenience food, the church that is nearest your home might not have the basic amenities that you need to feed your spiritual life. And if that is the case-- where do you go? Read more
There are some striking parallels between those who refuse to mask up, who call the whole thing a hoax; and those who insist that "All Lives Matter, that racism does not exist in 2020, and that they, themselves, have no implicit bias that affects their worldview. All of these folks end up being asymptomatic carriers of an ill that costs countless lives; all because their privilege allows them to deny the suffering of others. Read more
Irreverin
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