We stood outside the White House chanting slogans about immigration. Leaders of the protest kept trying to put signs and other things into my hands. I kept rejecting whatever was handed to me. The truth is that I was most interested in holding a cross. The rhetoric surrounding immigration often centers on ideas of United States exceptionalism. I am a pastor. I am interested in Jesus above the United States. My heart regularly breaks as other nations and... Read more
July 31, 2014 An Open Letter to Christians on Immigration Friends. Jesus fled after his brothers were shot to death. There was nowhere to go that was safe. Jesus pushed north. Traveling across nation after nation, Jesus was abused and almost killed numerous times. Months into the journey, Jesus started his trek through the desert. The dehydration worsened with each step. Collapsing to the sand, Jesus closed his eyes and did not expect to wake up again. The bright light... Read more
There is a child crying nearby and we ignore it. The louder the cries of the child become the more we cover our ears. The crying grows louder and louder until it reaches a desperate scream yet still we refuse to be moved. Then the cry goes silent. This is the story of our relationship with the cries of the children of Central America. We have ignored their cries demanding justice for so long that they have now arrived... Read more
We were planning our lives. We were adjusting to life after children (twins and a single) in less than two and a half years. We knew what we were doing. Then we came face to face with a black and white screen. I sat next to Emily as they rubbed goo all over her belly and prepared the sonogram. The sonographer was a little too cheerful for the moment. I was simply uninterested in her musings about her... Read more
“You are going to hell!” I hated people damning me to hell. There was always something about someone speaking me into a fiery torment for all of eternity that was the ultimate “fuck you.” I am not there anymore. This morning after yet another incident of being damned, I realized I get told I am going to hell the most when I feel the closest to God. The epiphany changed everything. From poverty to sickness to racism to... Read more
“Why have you forsaken me?” is a proper description of what many of us might feel if someone was standing over us about to intentionally inject deadly chemicals into our body. Joseph Wood spent time talking about his love for Jesus. How are we to respond when a man who has been convicted of heinous murders speaks of Jesus as his dearest friend? There is a temptation to dismiss such spiritual proclamations as jailhouse religion meant to assuage the... Read more
Once there was a couple with a young son who were forced to flee their homeland. Throughout the treacherous journey, the family wrestled mightily to finish the trip. Upon arrival, the family struggled to adapt to their new surroundings. The language and customs were so different from their home. People would often stare and make life uncomfortable. The couple couldn’t understand why everyone was so afraid of them. While this could be the story of many people who presently immigrate... Read more
When I was growing up, we/I believed everyone who disagreed with us/me about God was going to hell. I continued to cling to and organize my life around the border of saved and unsaved for a long time. Then I started doing some deeper reading about the limitless love of God and everything began to change. I am not interested in your borders. I am not interested in your nationalities. I am not interested in the mistaken belief that... Read more
The muffled screams of a dying 43-year-old husband, father and grandfather named Eric Garner…”I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!”…are absolutely haunting. The coming silence from most white congregations in their worship services will be even more haunting. In the silence, we will discover one of the worst kept secrets in religious life…white churches do not care about the violence that is consistently perpetuated against black people in our society. How many more black people will have to die before... Read more
Christians have a bad tendency to rush to offer excuses for God in the wake of tragedy. In the last 24 hours, John Middleton was executed in Missouri with a lingering legitimate claim of innocence, four cousins were killed while playing soccer on a beach outside of Gaza City, Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot out of the sky by Ukrainian separatists with a contingent of the world’s top HIV/AIDS researchers on board, a six year old girl... Read more
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