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
“Trust the Process”…The Last Words You Hear Before You Die Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus Barabbas. So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” For he knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him.... Read more
The Creation of God: A Vision The future is a question. God is the question. The past is the future. The future is the past. Time is fiction. “God, you have violated the laws of the cosmos! For your sins, you are hereby sentenced to disintegration.” The cosmic jury had spoken and their ship began to travel closer and closer to the fiery star. When the heat became unbearable, God was shot into the middle of the... Read more
November 5, 2020 Jesus or Trump: A Short Note to Fellow Christians Below is a transcript. This is not just any transcript. This is a transcript of the President of the United States repeatedly telling lies that undermine our democracy. Such lies are very likely to incite violence if the election maintains its’ current course and Trump loses the presidency. In fact, earlier today Trump’s friend/former advisor Steve Bannon’s YouTube account was suspended and he was banned from... Read more
The Existential Threat: God or Government? / President Trump as Antichrist I met a man on the road that was consumed with the dumbass this morning. Though professing to be a firm believer in both God and Trump, it didn’t seem to me that he really knew anything about either. For, his God was Uncle Sam and his Trump was the incarnation of such. After he blubbered about for a few minutes, I asked him about the relationship... Read more
“Somebody’s In Our House!” Continued Escalating Harassment in Ashe County. I’ve long believed that people are intrinsically good. I’ve long believed that all people carry the undefiled image of God. Moving to Ashe County has certainly tested those beliefs. Nights are tough. Days are spent taking care of our children. Nights are for working. Every night, I have a similar ritual. After most (hopefully all…) of the children have gone to bed. I sit down at... Read more
Leon Prince: Serial Sex Offender / Almost My Rapist There aren’t many people in my life that I’ve told this story to. It feels weird / but necessary. Not long after I left college, I moved to Montgomery, Alabama. For a few months before I went to seminary, I worked as the interim youth director at a drug and alcohol recovery program. Though I was burdened for all of the young people that I met, there were a couple... Read more
Problematic Early Voting in Ashe County or Voter Intimidation in the High Country We were prepared. We registered weeks ago. We researched the candidates. We got up early this morning. We argued a bit. We drove for almost an hour to get to the county seat of Jefferson. We pulled into the parking lot. We located the building. We put on our masks. We got in line. We social distanced. We waited for a moment to get into the building. We moved... Read more
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