February 12, 2021 Missions = Disgusting “How many souls of savages have you won today?” “If you love Jesus…more than anything else…you’ll be more than willing to get your penis chopped off in the jungle so that others might know Christ…” “Missions is not about the people that you’re evangelizing…it is about God’s greater glory.” “You should never let your concern for your own body come between you and someone coming to know Jesus.” ... Read more
February 4, 2021 Congresswoman Majorie Taylor Greene, My Former Sunday School Teacher Earlier today, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green delivered remarks on the floor of congress trying to deflect attention away from all of the crazy shit she has said…before a vote that ultimately stripped her of her committee seats. One section of her speech particularly stood out… I believe in God with all my heart and I’m so grateful to be humbled, to be reminded that I’m a... Read more
Something reminds me of what I’ve missed… Can the past change the present? Could something be sent to us? Can the present change the past? Could something be sent back? What would happen? Would it change anything? Can anything be changed? We live in a sort of arrogance with regard to these questions. We assume we know and that is all. However, spirituality has never been about knowing. There is more than what was. There is more than... Read more
January 28, 2021 The Vaccination Ethic. In the midst of viral sickness, there is a vaccination ethic… When God comes in all of God’s glory, God will sit upon the highest mountain. All the nations will be gathered below, and God will separate the people one from another. God will put the righteous on one side and the unrighteous on the other. Then God will say to the righteous, “Come, you who are blessed with love; take your inheritance, for I have prepared a... Read more
January 25, 2021 Nonconsensual Touching in Elementary Schools: aka Hugging I write to address the proliferation and encouragement of intentional nonconsensual touching that is not legally justified that has become pervasive in elementary schools…hugs. Daily, young children are hugged in hallways and classrooms across the country. While you might consider such activity benign, it is far from it under the examination of consent and common law. Consent is the voluntary, informed and freely given agreement to participate in mutually... Read more
Officer Brian Sicknick Speaks! : Trump/Trumpsters Condemned from the Grave “And we fight. We fight like hell.” The hair on the back of his neck rose up. “And if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.” Something in him snapped. “Let’s go!!!” He was activated. “Let’s show those bitches whose boss!” Fists in the air, he started to run. “There’s Hawley!” By responding with a raised fist, the Senator assured him that everything... Read more
The Final Prayer. / On the Death of Jack Dillard. / My Grandfather. I’ve been hesitant to write about it. Sometimes words just can’t capture the totality of loss. The tumult of disagreement never destroyed our relationship. Throughout it all, we spoke as often as we could. Though often imperfect, I never doubted his love. In the end, I was afforded one last visit. This was our final prayer. God We... Read more
Drugged. Interstellar Exploration of the Incarnation Loud music. “Jesus is alive!” Loud music. “Do you know Jesus?” Loud music. “With every head bowed and every eye closed…” Soft music. “X number of people have come to know Jesus!” Loud music. “We can’t leave tonight without giving a portion back…” Loud music. “Go live for Jesus!” Loud music. The formula was always the same. Truth be told, I hated all of it. It always felt... Read more
“How can we have certainty in any historical narratives? It seems that everything that we’re doing is based on our construction of a false or at least imperfect narrative.” I thought it was a good question…but it got all over my professor. “This is graduate school Jeff…you should have moved beyond silly questions like that.” Unfazed, I went further. “I’m just concerned that we are calling something certain that we have no idea whether it is certain or not.”... Read more
The Latest Ink: High Country Theology For the last few months, I’ve been wrestling with what a liberation theology of the High Country (Western North Carolina and beyond) might look like. The collected visions and stories are contained in my newest (45th published) book, High Country Theology. Below are a few excerpts… Countless years passed. Few mountain people remained. Most sold themselves to the highest bidder. The owners of paradise became slaves of the outsiders. No one... Read more
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