February 4, 2015

  In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life.” Texas has the largest population of Christians of any state in our nation. You would think that the words of Jesus would be something that are lived out here on a daily basis. Today, I am attending two vigils to provide witness to two situations, that contrary to the vision of Jesus, are characterized by misdirection, dishonesty and death.   By many accounts, Ty... Read more

February 3, 2015

Ty Underwood. Most people don’t know her name. Most people don’t know her story. Most people would just prefer not to know and keep going on about their lives. I can’t. Last week, Ty Underwood was brutally murdered somewhere near 24th Street in North Tyler, Texas. In addition to the murder, Ty faced the numerous struggles and oppressions that come with being a transgender woman of color in our society. When I first heard about the case, I immediately believed... Read more

February 3, 2015

  J: Is there room in the Bible for polyamorous relationships?   D: I don’t see polyamory spoken of positively at all in scripture.  When polyamory is mentioned, it is not approved or valued.   J: I think we are going to disagree on this.  There are multiple points in the Old Testament were intimate love is shared equally by more than two people.  I see love as the thrust of scripture.  Throughout the scriptures, love being confined to a... Read more

February 1, 2015

I am sick. I am not talking about the kind of sick that you are able to get over. My sickness is chronic. Though I take medicine twice daily, I will never be healed. Then again, I don’t know that I want to be. The construction of my mind is terribly important to who I am. Though some people would call my condition Bipolar Disorder, I would call it me.   Apart from the intermittent mania and depression, my condition... Read more

January 31, 2015

  *Delivered on January 25, 2015 at the Virginia-Highland Church in Atlanta, Georgia   Life is about questions. Sometimes these questions have answers and sometimes they don’t. Who are we? Why are we here? Do we even matter? These are human questions. On this day, I intend to engage these questions from a queer perspective. The Gospel of John in the first chapter says, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was... Read more

January 30, 2015

  “All Muslims aren’t terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims.” A woman shouted these words into the camera in one of the many videos of Christian protests of Texas Muslim Capitol Day in Austin. During the over hour and a half event, Christians consistently shouted down Muslim speakers and at one point came close to assaulting some of the speakers. Muslim children from Texas were screamed at and told to return to their home country. If that wasn’t disgusting enough,... Read more

January 29, 2015

  God. Why? Why do I have to keep coming down here? Why was Robert Ladd born with intellectual disabilities? Why were people murdered? Why are we about to murder Robert Ladd? Why? Do you care? Are you here? Is there a reason why you don’t stop this? Are you addicted to death and suffering? Do you even exist? I don’t know the answer to these questions. I only know that I have chosen to believe. I believe that you... Read more

January 28, 2015

When the time comes to consecrate communion, most celebrants approach the altar and read from a prepared liturgy. In the moment when Jesus is supposed to be closest to us, I have always felt like the consecration of communion is a time to explain what the incarnation means. Based on Jesus’ promise to inhabit the least of these amongst us, I feel like the incarnation changes and transforms constantly with the changes and transformations that go on in the world... Read more

January 25, 2015

I woke up this morning with my mind set on the things of God. When the majesty of God truly comes over you, there is a tingling in your physiological construction. While I wouldn’t call it nervousness, I can say that it makes you shake. Today was a preaching day and like all preaching days I was overcome with the sense of responsibility that comes with standing before the people of God and purveying the words of God. The drive... Read more

January 24, 2015

  Week after week, pastors and staffs of churches deliberate about what message they intend to purvey to their community with their church sign. The sign is intended to share with the community the most important thoughts of the congregation for the week. While visiting my home state of Georgia this week, I drove past a church sign advertising, “Moderate Theology.” The sign sparked my curiosity. Later in the day, I asked a friend in ministry in Atlanta about the... Read more


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