Like the demon-possessed man in the Gospel lesson this past Sunday whose problems were Legion, we often feel as though our lives are possessed by other forces, as if we are chained to patterns and behaviors from which we are helpless to escape. We’d like be able to blame our struggles on an external force or circumstance, yet, like Legion, the real oppression is almost always inside us. Then one day Legion had an encounter with Life in the person... Read more

Congruent Christianity is a pattern of living that seeks to consistently express the core values of Jesus in every area of our lives. This doesn’t happen by pretending we are perfect or holy. The only one who might be fooled by such pretense might be us. Anyone else who lives with us knows the truth of our weakness, failures, and mistakes. Living a life that is congruent with the values of Jesus is not found in pretending to be better... Read more

Last Sunday I talked about courage and our need for a large dose of it if we are going to be capable of the kind of honesty we need to acknowledge our broken places. The recovery community would teach us that the first and hardest step to recovery is acknowledging our need and the fact that we cannot fix ourselves. We pretend to be smarter than we are because to acknowledge that someone else knows something that we don’t makes... Read more

Margins aren’t just for papers. In fact, I’m increasingly convinced that margins, or rather the lack of them, is one of the most self-destructive things today. Richard Swenson, an associate professor of medicine, wrote a book called Margin that warns about the impact that failing to leave margins in our personal lives has on relationships, productivity, health, and general sanity. Defining margin as the space that exists between people and their personal limits, Swenson suggested that space largely has been... Read more

The Bible calls early Christians “people of the Way.” I’ve always loved that because it forces me to think about the ways of Jesus. It is such a cliché to ask, “What would Jesus do?” but that doesn’t make the question any less important. When questions arise we all have quick, and often firm, opinions, but wisdom requires us to leave room for the possibility that we might be wrong, and faith requires us to be open to the possibility... Read more

Someone recently said to me about a colleague: “He always thinks that he is the smartest person in the room, and often that is true. The trouble is that when it is not he never knows and never sees how much damage is done.” I wonder how often the same could be said of me, and of us all. I love the song “Colors of the Wind” from the animated Disney film “Pocahontas”: You think you own whatever land you... Read more

Recently, as the guest preacher at Virginia-Highland Church, I used a video in the sermon by a young African-American poet/preacher named Tiffanie Shanks.  I am a big fan of her work.  She has an incredible power to create word pictures.  In her poem “True Identity,” which you can watch on YouTube (www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJONBmVUKkg) she presents a picture that God has “hanndcrafted” us by “Love’s persistence.” That unique identity and connection that we all have with God is true and freeing.  A... Read more

I have been in local church ministry since 1985, and I have had privilege of call in the United Church of Christ for five years, and three years ago I was called as Director of Online Learning and Coaching for the Center for Progressive Renewal. On a recent Sunday, though, I was asked for the first time to fill the pulpit of a UCC congregation and bring the sermon. I am part of a new trend within the UCC. I... Read more

“…and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice….”  –Micah 6:8 I have often heard it said that the first thing to be cut when a church’s budget is tight is missions.  While I haven’t done any systematic research on the subject (actually not much I do is systematic), I have heard enough stories to believe in the truth of the statement. Mission budgets are easy targets because to cut them, initially at least, doesn’t impact the... Read more

As social classes lack clear boundaries and overlap there are no definite income thresholds as for what is considered middle class. Sociologist Leonard Beeghley identifies a male making $57,000 and a female making $40,000 with a combined household’s income of $97,000 as a typical middle-class family. Sociologists William Thompson and Joseph Hickey estimate an income range of roughly $35,000 to $75,000 for the lower middle class and $100,000 or more for the upper middle class. Many social scientists, including economist... Read more