My mama, who could fry some of the best damn chicken you ever put in your mouth, never taught me to cook. She taught me a lot of things, but she just couldn’t tolerate a constantly questioning kiddo scrambling around her kitchen as she tended to her cast iron skillets and perfectly sweetened pitchers of […]
For some time now, moderate and progressive Christians have been wondering aloud how evangelical Christians came to support Donald Trump in all his obvious clash with Christian values – xenophobic, materialistic, fear-mongering bloviating. What’s the question again caller? It recently occurred to me that NO greater clue exists for this apparent disconnect than a linchpin […]
All the energy and time spent by some “conservative Christians” focusing on “homosexual practice” is antithetical to the life, death and resurrection of the One we call Christ. There are many things Jesus asks of us as Kingdom builders, but sexual policing is not one. I sincerely hope everyone who is called to the life of […]
All year round, many of us Jesusy types look for ways to be intentional about practicing the presence of God. There are a myriad of books, booklets, websites, podcasts and small groups dedicated to spiritual practices meant to give our wandering minds a compass pointing us toward the Divine. Today I’d like to lift up a […]
About five years ago, in the final moments of Ash Wednesday, I found myself propped up against a dingy Greenwich Village bar room wall when I realized I had just experienced a perfect 18-hour liturgy. Preparation It actually all began, as days like this often do, the night before at a bar on Fat Tuesday. […]
1. To put nothing before The One who is Love. 2. To not worship Mammon, The Constitution, The Bible, culture or technology (sorry Facebook). 3. To only speak God’s name when I am either talking to or about God. Ecstasy counts since it could be argued I am expressing gratitude. 4. To take at least […]
January 29, 2017 – Year A Micah 6:1-8 Psalm 15 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 Matthew 5:1-12 When talking with others about the Jesusy things, there’s hardly anything that gets under my skin more than when someone starts a sentence with “The Bible is clear that…” This is because the Bible is a complex collection of texts […]
Here is a partial list of nasty women in the Bible. Please feel free to add the names and stories of other such nasty women of faith. Shiphrah and Puah Midwives committing acts of civil disobedience Deborah Judge, warrior and prophet you predicted the defeat of the Canaanites – by one nasty as hell […]
Dear United Methodist Church, I am writing to you today as a sister in ministry, a southern-born graduate of Candler School of Theology, a wounded healer, a daughter, sister, mama, friend, partner…and lesbian Christian. It is because I have witnessed over and over again the suffering of dearly beloved friends who identify as United Methodists […]
The other day Franklin Graham, in a self-righteous, power-coveting, ignorance-laced, fear-inducing rant on Facebook garnered over 147,000 likes, 58,000 shares and 18,000 comments by with a post about the sin of homosexuality. And after much soul searching, prayer and study I’ve decided it’s time for me to tell the truth about the sin of the homosexual lifestyle. Now hang on, I’m not […]