It is a common holy week theme. Can you sit with your Judas? Do we even wish to do so? This Saturday we will formally separate congregations from our Annual Conference. Unfortunately, we are not separating the clergy members who have lied, misinformed, and manipulated the prejudices of lay members to maintain their own incomes. True, these people don’t attend clergy meetings. Our most recent clergy convocation was a beautiful experience for a number of reasons. One of the largest... Read more
Why did Jonah need to stay in the belly of the fish for 3 days? It is a question we almost never ask. Jesus mentions the 3 days and nights in the fish to point toward the resurrection. For early Christians, Jonah became a symbol of the Resurrection. Curiously, that is not the point the book of Jonah makes. The story of Jonah is about mercy. 3 Days of Judgment Jonah is swallowed up by the fish after persuading the... Read more
The canonical gospels never show Jesus walking out of his tomb. Yet, popular memes on social media give this impression. The pictures are interesting because they miss the point. Jesus never walks out of his tomb like…like… Lazarus. According to tradition, Lazarus lived for about 30 years after that until he died again. The Tomb Stories Matthew shows an angel opening a sealed tomb that is now empty. Mark shows the tomb already opened after the women are concerned about... Read more
Paul says “For freedom Christ has set us free.” (Galatians 5:1) I for one am glad to hear it. I suppose the churches in Galatia enjoyed hearing this sentiment as it was read to them. No doubt, some took these words at face value. Other people were more cautious. “For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters, only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. For the whole... Read more
Enough. Fed up. Tired of it. Disgust overload. Guns are the drug of choice for a sizable portion of the population of the USA. And fear is the unstated reason for this violence to continue. The recent rampage at The Covenant School in Nashville is the latest outcome. The right to bear arms is confused with the right to sell weapons of war to any one with a credit card. Legislators appear in Christmas cards holding these weapons along with... Read more
Seminaries get blame for not training clergy appropriately. The blame comes from a certain segment of society which claims all that higher education does is make good people liberal. The recent approval of two southern Baptist seminaries for training clergy in the Global Methodist Church reflects this prejudice. Most secularists oppose theological education as either programming or indoctrination. The objection is the subjects studied contribute little to enhancing human knowledge or betterment of society. Conservative church leaders object to theological... Read more
Progressive Christians do not feel at home in many churches anymore. There are reasons to find a church or develop a congregation of like-minded Jesus followers. It is understandable when one feels wounded or angry to avoid churches all together. Yet it is not the best thing to do. I will give four reasons followers of Jesus need church. 1. Reasons of Mutual Help Community is like experience. You don’t feel the need for it until you need it. People... Read more
I finally saw the film Women Talking. I highly recommend it to anyone believing forgiveness is easy. While the film is fiction, it is based on actual events. The women involved in the discussion are part of a religious community based in pacifism and simple living. The commands to love one’s neighbor and forgive one’s enemies have become pious platitudes in the community. After a series of sexual assaults are committed, one man of the community is caught. He then identifies... Read more
Hearing the divine call would affirm so much for us. People ask me when I heard my call to preach. One person told me when her husband thought he was called to be a pastor, she replied, he was mistaken because she was not called to be a pastor’s spouse. She was criticized for it. Yet, I agree with her. Do not expect everyone to fall in line with your momentary feelings on any subject. A calling is different than... Read more
Flattery will sometimes get you closer to your goal. How many times has a new pastor stumbled because they believed the flattery? I left one first Sunday morning worship as the new pastor. As she walked by an older woman pulled me over to whisper in my ear, “Thank God for you!” It was the sort of ego boost we like to receive now and again…well…all the time. But I was a little wary of it too. Previous pastors have... Read more
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