Ever since I arrived at the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention’s conference “The Gospel, Homosexuality & the Future of Marriage,” I have sensed the invisible footsteps that walk with me. The comforting whispers are constant. For days I have wondered who or what I have heard and sensed. When I started to give out tonight after a nasty and hurtful conversation with a much older participant in the conference, I sensed and heard it... Read more
The Gaylord Opryland Hotel is an imposing structure. On this day, I knew that it was full of imposing figures from my past. I struggled tremendously at the Southern Baptist Theologically. For years, I couldn’t decide who or what I was. The harsh teachings of my professors made things worse and led to a sustained deep depression. There are many days where I don’t know how I made it. With this type of baggage, I stepped out of the... Read more
Salvation was always such an important part of my upbringing. We were constantly begged, pushed, prodded and manipulated to go down the aisle. If I got saved once, I got saved a hundred times. When the preacher started talking about hell and the rhetorical fires started tickling my toes, I especially felt the tug to make sure I was sure about all this salvation stuff. The older I got, the more skeptical I became of the saved rhetoric. With... Read more
the elements there sits the bread it occupies our head there sits the wine to fill us swine come on down you foolish clown the elements are magic here they alleviate all of our fear go now and learn what it means to discern Read more
Over and over again, I listened to the voices that argued for the need to support progressive candidates that line up with progressive politics on “nearly every issue.” Unfortunately, the “nearly every issue” part always seems to exclude the death penalty here in Texas. Even the most progressive candidates are for the death penalty. There is nothing progressive about killing people and I can’t be a part of the charade of it all any more. Above all else, I... Read more
If Jesus does not support marriage equality, then the Jesus that evangelicals taught me about is not the real Jesus. In my preschool years, we sang of a God that loved the world. In my young adult years, we talked about loving our neighbors as our self. In my education at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, we were taught how to take the good news of Jesus to the world. All of the hate, homophobia and bad news I consistently... Read more
“It is hard for me to not believe that homosexuality is a sin when God tells us in Leviticus to kill those who perpetuate homosexual acts.” In May of 2002, a fiery Southern Baptist preacher proclaimed these hateful words to be the words of God. Those in attendance cheered him on. Each time I think I’m so advanced in my understanding of the world that I can cease dialogue with persons more conservative than I, I remind myself of... Read more
the you outside agitator the run the stun outside agitator the fear the hide the side outside agitator the street the meet the anger the scowl outside agitator the shove the stumble the hate the state the fist outside agitator the cuff the stuff the chat the ride the thoughts the station outside agitator the door the walk the jail the cell the slam the rights the stare outside agitator which side of the bars are you on? Read more
Good morning Cathedral! I think it is appropriate for me to tell you a little about my week on the same day that we are remembering and celebrating the life of Matthew Shepard. When Matthew Shepard died, there were so many of us who promised “never again.” We declared, “When we meet situations of injustice we are going to stand up and do something. Never again will we let such moments pass by without action.” This week I had... Read more
Well…I’m a little tired. I’ve had a hell of a day to be honest with you. I don’t know if any of you share such sentiments. I had two particularly painful experiences today. One was this afternoon…I shared time with a 28-year-old man who is dying of bone cancer. There was a tremendous amount of pain involved in the situation for me. I was just trying to figure out…Where is God in all of this? Right before I came... Read more
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