I have loved comics for as long as I can remember being able to read. What started with a mail subscription to G.I. Joe ballooned into an infatuation with The Mighty Thor (and the panoply of Norse Gods) and a growing collection of unopened Toy Biz X-Men figurines from the early 1990s. My room as an elementary [Read More…]
Welcoming Wonder and Curiosity: Lessons from a Comic Shop for the Church
June 7, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Keep Christianity Weird: The Trinity, Mermaids, UFOs, and Holy Strangeness
May 26, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Keep it weird. From Portland and Boulder to Austin and Asheville, “Keep It Weird” has become a rallying cry for local culture in an increasingly mass-produced landscape, a full-throated embrace funky individualism that ironically forges strong community. Of course, to really find the misfit and funky expressions of humanity, you have to move beyond the [Read More…]
Fear Will Be the Big Winner on Super Tuesday
March 1, 2016 by Leave a Comment
It’s Super Tuesday. Lots of people are voting today. And if I had to put money on it, I’d bet a large number of people aren’t voting for someone they love, but someone who best reflects their greatest fears back to them. Now, I know some folks will protest such a characterization. Ardent followers of Bernie [Read More…]
Repenting of Repentance
March 1, 2016 by Leave a Comment
We need to repent of the word ‘repent.’ Shouted from pulpits and street corners, it’s long been a favorite refrain of fire-and-brimstone preachers hoping to provoke fear-induced conversions. Proclaimed to the faithful, it has long been a pious call to the congregation to enumerate, renounce, and turn from their sins. Painted on billboards and signs, [Read More…]
Expansive Love in the Church: On Being a Dad and a Father, a Priest and a Parishioner
February 26, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Peanut butter smudges against the screen of my smartphone, and I simultaneously mumble a curse and a prayer of thanks that I had the commonsense to get a sturdy case for my phone. Maybe it’s not the best way to handle the stress of my morning, but it’s 6:45 a.m., and I’m wiping peanut butter [Read More…]
Lenten Disciplines for Social Media: Creating a Better Web Together
February 12, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Social media can be a pretty harsh place these days. Death threats, bullying, shaming, and the ever-present Twitter feud. It’s exhausting. Many folks I’ve talked to admit to feeling emotionally frayed, spiritually frustrated, and frankly fearful because of it. And as I was sitting in an Ash Wednesday service, I began to think about [Read More…]
Inconsistent Scripture: Why the Bible’s Errors Are Actually Good News for Christians
January 4, 2016 by Leave a Comment
I still remember the first time I realized that not only were there two creation stories in Genesis, but also that they unequivocally contradicted each other. Part of my shock at discovering this was that I had read and re-read those stories so much but had never noticed the difference. The cognitive dissonance was so great that [Read More…]
Why I Bless Halloween Costumes at Church
October 23, 2015 by Leave a Comment
I love Halloween. Always have. I loved Halloween as a teenager so much that I continued to dress up and Trick or Treat throughout high school and drag my friends along with me. As an adult, taking my kids out on Halloween night, it has become even more magical. There is something special to me, in [Read More…]
Things to #NeverForget on 9/11
September 11, 2015 by Leave a Comment
It’s been 14 years. And we’re still reliving 9/11 each year. With videos of tumbling towers. With remembrances of the dead. With the call to #NeverForget. But on this day, as a Christian, there are some other things I want us to never forget about 9/11 and the retaliatory War on Terror that happened in response. [Read More…]
The Identity Crisis of Christ (Lectionary Reflection Mark 8:27-38)
September 8, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Proper 19 — Year B — Mark 8:27-38 Ever since his baptism, Jesus’ world had simultaneously expanded and crumbled. It had all started so promising, with the Spirit descending like a dove, the voice from the heavens declaring him the Beloved Son. It was a public declaration of his identity he didn’t take lightly, despite [Read More…]
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