Thanksgiving is a time of looking back and giving thanks to God. Advent is a time of looking forward and living into God's promised future. Below, I did a video on Advent and Thanksgiving in light of the recent shooting at an LGBTQ bar in Colorado Springs. https://youtu.be/pwnUqiZh-ic
Are We A Progressive Church?
Is First Christian a progressive congregation? The answer is complex.
Love Don’t Live Here Anymore
Well, the Special General Conference for the United Methodist Church is done. For those of us who are LGBTQ and allies, the result was shocking and hurtful.
The Politics of Jesus
The church needs to be political, if it can learn what it means to be a political church.
Eugene Peterson and the Age of Shibboleths
I don't know when it happened, but I've become a walking, talking shibboleth. A shibboleth is a word or custom that signifies who is in the ingroup and who is in the outgroup. Think of it as an old fashioned version of virtue signaling. Now, I didn't personally become a shibboleth, but the fact that... Continue Reading →
The Politics of Fear, Reconsidered
It's wrong to be hate another person for their religion. But God also looks down on pride, the sense that you are better than others because you are so righteous.
The Invisibility of Progressive Christianity
Every so often, I've heard an argument that goes like this: "the press only talks about the Christians vs. the gays as if all Christians are against being gay. Don't they know that there are Christians who support gays?" The frustration comes from being ignored by the wider culture, especially the media. When we think... Continue Reading →
Was Jesus a Progressive Rabbi?
Before I say anything, take a look at this graphic. I've seen a few people on Facebook share this image from theologian Benjamin Corey and I have to say that it bothers me. Maybe Corey thinks he is sharing the gospel truth, but I don't think he's doing that. He is peddaling a Jesus in... Continue Reading →
Tiny Violins
Some of the responses to to a recent post as well as some extra reading has me back at the keyboard again to share something thoughts about this rapidly changing situation in Indiana. I want to focus on one issue in particular: the demand by social conservatives to push for tolerance . So here goes.... Continue Reading →
Fear Factor
Religious conservatives and the LGBT community have to learn to make room for each other.