Religion and politics should never mix…. How many people have heard that line before? How many of us actually believe that line? For so many people in our country, when communities of faith begin to get involved in or speak about political issues, a wave of fear washes over them, and rightfully so. In the past, political leaders have used religion as a way to manipulate the masses to conform to their will. And in our more recent history, religious... Read more
The following an excerpt from my book “True Inclusion: Creating Communities of Radical Embrace” which releases today from Chalice Press. Order your book here. One evening, I was sitting in a room of straight, white, progressive pastors who were talking about how they first came to the churches that they were now pastoring. One by one, this group of straight men recounted to me how they went to a popular LGBT+ church database (GayChurch.com) to look for communities of which... Read more
Last week, the story of a nine-year-old boy named Jamel Myles emerged across international media platforms. Jamel was an elementary school student in Colorado who took his own life after being bullied by his peers for being gay. Upon hearing Jamel’s tragic story, the nation was shocked. No person, especially a child, should be made to feel ashamed of who they are. No one should be forced to feel that their life is not worth living, especially someone as young... Read more
The following is a short excerpt from my forthcoming book “True Inclusion:Creating Communities of Radical Embrace” All discrimination and exclusion is rooted in our own unhealed wounds or prejudices. We discriminate and exclude based on false narratives we’ve been taught. Those false narratives often put the unfair blame for our own pain or the struggles of our society on a person or group of people. They scapegoat. Unsurprisingly, the LGBT+ community has often been a scapegoat, not just for Christians, but for... Read more
A few years ago, I was invited to preach at a self-proclaimed LGBT+ inclusive church. It was one of the first times I had been invited into a pulpit since I had come out as an openly gay Christian, and I was deeply honored to find a place that would welcome me and my calling regardless of my sexuality. As I approached the church, I spotted a large rainbow flag hanging above the door- this sight was healing and exhilarating... Read more
When you think of who you are, how do you describe yourself? Take a second and think about that question. Who are you? As we begin to answer this question, it’s likely we will start by naming attributes that could fall into two different categories- physical and mental or spiritual. I am a man. That’s physical. I am American. Also, a statement of a physical reality. I am a Christian. That’s spiritual or immaterial. I am a pastor. A statement... Read more
Today, our nation celebrates Independence Day, the day where we commemorate the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, the sure sign of our nations freedom from the oppression that was being experienced under the monarch of the United Kingdom. On this day, 241 years ago, the founders of our nation shed the labels of the British Empire and declared that they were the United States of America, a new nation where religious freedom, freedom of press, and freedom of expression... Read more
In early June, 2018, I went on my first pilgrimage to the Holy Land. As a Christian pastor, I had been yearning to take this pilgrimage for my entire life- to be in the land where the stories of scripture occurred, to follow in the footsteps and set my gaze on the very stones that Jesus himself would have seen was an experience that I believed would bolster my faith and renew my spirit in ways I could never imagine.... Read more
Growing up, I was taught that God desired me to basically be perfect. If I thought any so-called “lustful thoughts”, if I considered any idea that was contrary to what scripture was said to think, if I was told that I had committed a “sin”. But that wasn’t even the disturbing part. I was told that the power of sin was that it could separate me from God. That if I thought, acted, or believed in any way that was... Read more
We are living in an era where claiming to be a Christian is becoming less and less appealing. Those who most publicly tout their adherence to this faith that claims to center on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth are often those whose lives have little to no resemblance to this first century Rabbi who shunned power, privilege, and wealth in favor of reclining at the table of the outcast and marginalized. This is why I was so... Read more
Nomad
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In