2016-06-06T12:19:09-04:00

Last updated on: June 6, 2016 at 12:19 pm   By

My first response to Andrew Marin’s Us Versus Us is “read this book!” It is well-researched, sensitive, irenic in spirit, and inclusive in attitude. It provides data and interpretation that can change minds, open spirits, and enable churches to share good news in ways that welcome the GLBT community. It is especially relevant to welcome-spirited evangelicals who realize that “hate the sin, love the sinner” is theological pablum, a dog whistle for intolerance, and is heard as “hate the sin, hate... Read more

2016-06-02T15:28:03-04:00

Last updated on: June 2, 2016 at 3:28 pm   By

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Fourth Sunday after Pentecost – June 12, 2016 1 Kings 21:1-10, (11-14), 15-21a, Psalm 5:1-8 (and/or 2 Samuel 11:26-12:10, 13-15, Psalm 32) Galatians 2:15-21 Luke 7:36-8:3 Today’s lectionary readings combine grace and challenge. The powerful and self-proclaimed righteous often forget their need for grace and, in consequence, use their power to destroy and exclude, thinking that their actions are “not personal, just business” or “just collateral damage,” or “part of the cost-benefit.” They cannot fully... Read more

2016-05-27T06:43:03-04:00

Last updated on: May 27, 2016 at 6:43 am   By

The Adventurous Lectionary – Third Sunday after Pentecost – June 5, 2016 I Kings 17:8-16 (17-24) Psalm 146 Galatians 1:11-24 Luke 7:11-17 In today’s readings, God is portrayed as the source of amazing things: food in a drought, reviving the dead, and transforming our lives. When we see a dead end, God sees an open future. When we see scarcity, God dreams of abundance. God brings new life, feeds the hungry, and transforms spirits, sometimes when we least expect it... Read more

2016-05-20T11:54:21-04:00

Last updated on: May 20, 2016 at 11:54 am   By

The dustcover of Joshua Steven Grisetti’s new book God in My Head announces that the author “experienced an accidental prescription drug overdose at a dentist’s office and subsequently had an unexpected encounter with the Almighty Creator the Universe.” Grisetti’s drug induced hallucinations opened the doors of perception, to use Aldous Huxley’s language, and awakened him to the vastness of the universe and a deity quite different than the patriarchal, often vindictive, loving, and ambiguous god of his fundamentalist upbringing. Grisetti doesn’t... Read more

2016-05-20T04:54:10-04:00

Last updated on: May 20, 2016 at 4:54 am   By

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Second Sunday after Pentecost – May 29, 2016 I Kings 18:20-39 Psalm 96 Galatians 1:1-12 Luke 7:1-10 What is your ultimate concern? Will you choose life or death, God or idols? Will you follow the path of Jesus or the wayward meanderings of materialism, individualism, and xenophobia? Will you open your heart to the stranger or mire in wall-building fear and self-interest? We have choices to make, and while they are seldom as stark as... Read more

2016-05-18T19:00:07-04:00

Last updated on: May 18, 2016 at 7:00 pm   By

Like any loving parent or grandparent, God will not quit pursuing us – or loving us. Not even death can hinder God’s pursuit, for nothing can separate us from the graceful and pursuing love of God. Read more

2016-05-13T13:08:37-04:00

Last updated on: May 13, 2016 at 1:08 pm   By

This post is part of a conversation on the new book The Soul-Making Room by Dee Dee Risher, for the Patheos Book Club. Philosopher Alfred North Whitehead claims that religion, at its best, aims at world loyalty. It begins, as the philosopher notes, with solitude, with our own personal experiences of the holy and the privacy inherent in every life, but recognizes what I call “the grace of interdependence,” recognizing that each moment is a gift of the environment as well... Read more

2016-05-13T09:49:32-04:00

Last updated on: May 13, 2016 at 9:49 am   By

Trinity Sunday – May 22, 2016 Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31; Psalm 8; Romans 5:1-5; John 16:12-15 After the fireworks of Pentecost, Trinity Sunday seems like a bit of a letdown. Functionally speaking, most mainline, liberal, and progressive Christians are Unitarian in spirit, if not theology. Although we recite the creeds from time to time, the doctrine of the Trinity is vague, confusing, and for the most part irrelevant in most congregants’ experience. Mainline and progressive Christians tend to focus on God... Read more

2016-05-07T08:42:13-04:00

Last updated on: May 7, 2016 at 8:42 am   By

The Adventurous Lectionary – Pentecost Sunday – May 15, 2016 Acts 2:1-21 Psalm 104:24-34, 35b Romans 8:14-17 John 14:8-17, (25-27) Like Easter and Christmas, the Pentecost preacher is presented with a scripture that is so familiar that he or she wonders if anything new can be said. Moreover, Pentecost is an anachronistic festival in many mainstream and progressive congregations. While we may dress in red, we don’t expect a mighty wind to blow through our congregations – unless we live... Read more

2016-05-07T08:37:00-04:00

Last updated on: May 7, 2016 at 8:37 am   By

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Seventh Sunday of Easter – May 8, 2016 Acts 16:16-34 Psalm 97 Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21 John 17:20-26 As I read the story of Paul and Silas singing and praying in prison, I am reminded of the traditional hymn “How Can I Keep From Singing.” My life flows on in endless song; Above earth’s lamentation, I hear the sweet, tho’ far-off hymn That hails a new creation; Thro’ all the tumult and the strife I... Read more

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