It happens over and over and over again. Very nice and good white people — the kind you really wouldn’t mind having as your neighbor, the kind you could invite over for a glass of wine or to run to the mall with you — say something that might sound just a tad bit racist. They don’t mean it. And you trust that if they were to ever, say, find themselves in a situation in which they had the chance… Read more

I’m not going to claim that I’m the best qualified person to lead this discussion, nor am I the smartest person in this area (or any area, for that matter). I’m not going to claim that I’m solving the world’s problems or even making a dent in this racism thing. But I do think that one of the reasons we have not yet been able to truly cure ourselves of the disease of racism is because we have not yet… Read more

Power structures, when they are working right, are insidious creations. You swim in them, but you don’t even notice they’re there. They inform your thoughts, tamper with your perspective, and practically build your opinion for you. Here, think this. Think that, about this. Between real news that’s called fake and fake news that’s called real, it can be difficult to actually notice the manipulation of our souls by the power structures that surround us. And more often than not, the power… Read more

“The only people afraid of immortality haven’t died yet.”    Thus says the character of Wolfgang Amadeus to Rodrigo in Mozart In The Jungle. The phrase caught some of my brain cells, and as I pondered this Good Friday, and all the things dying in my life right now, it got stuck there.   There is infinite wisdom in the statement. And it’s spiritual wisdom at that. Because I’m not just talking about physical death. I’m talking about all the kinds… Read more

I’m not sure what we should call it.   A sick fascination?   Idolatry?   An illicit affair?   They all do the job of describing America’s strange fascination with guns. Some of us go willingly and the rest of us go by force, but all of us lay prostrate before this strange altar made of cold steel, flammable powder, drying blood. (more…) Read more

Every once in a while, my soul goes kicking and screaming down a project pathway that feels scary and uncomfortable. Usually, when it’s scary and uncomfortable, that’s usually the sign that it’s something I have to do. Enter: podcasting.   But not just podcasting.   Nope. Me? I’m going to talk about race.  (more…) Read more

The scene was painful to watch and, unfortunately, probably familiar to a multitude of women. There sits the person with power,  behind a desk, banked by cronies who heckle and laugh and egg on. There, in front of the desk, is the vulnerable person, whose fate is held, in one way or another, in the hands of the powerful. Suddenly the powerful one decides to play a little game of entitlement, commands the vulnerable one to come a little closer,… Read more

So, here goes. Let’s talk about the yet-another-school shooting. It’s taken me some time. The world feels heavy and dark in these days. To be honest, I have been heavy and dark these days. And every day, when I stroke my son’s cheek to wake him up for school, or hug my daughter goodbye as she goes to catch the bus, my breath catches in my throat for a minute, and I have to remind myself to keep moving. To… Read more

One of the strange things that happens when you go to seminary is that God dies right in front of your eyes.   It’s a not a one-time event nor is it a slow, painful death. Rather, it is a long series of catastrophes, gory massacres that seem to happen over and over again as each embedded idea is dug up from its grave, examined mercilessly, then either cast on the fire or set aside for further inspection.   I… Read more

Yesterday, as John Piper released a blog post that explained why women should not have teaching positions in seminary, I sat in a classroom in Los Angeles, learning from process theologian Monica Coleman. For a seminary class. With other women.   Who’s John Piper again?   Oh right. He’s this guy with a really big platform who thinks that the Bible teaches complementarianism and that women can not lead men. But don’t worry ladies — it’s not about your competence… Read more