Seeing Martin Luther King Again for the First Time

Last updated on: February 4, 2014 at 2:50 pm By Roger Wolsey

“Is another King book necessary?” This is the question that Edward Gilbreath asks in the Acknowledgments at the end of his book Birmingham Revolution. Let me weigh-in with a decisive “Yes.” This book’s contribution to the literature about Martin Luther King, Jr. meets a need in American Christianity and in America herself. This book reminds evangelicals (esp. white ones) that MLK was a true brother in Christ and it reminds secularists as well as liberal and progressive mainline Protestants of... Read more

7 Ways to find a Progressive Christian Church

Last updated on: March 27, 2014 at 9:57 pm By Roger Wolsey

Spirituality is a good thing. Religion is too. Religion comes to us from the Latin religare which means “to bind together.” Biologists, anthropologists, and sociologists contend that humans are social creatures and we’re at our best when we associate and interact with others. Granted, some of us are more introverted and need more space away from others — but even my introverted friends would all say they enjoy others and thrive because of them. There is strength in numbers. Rosa... Read more

16 Ways Progressive Christians Interpret the Bible

Last updated on: October 9, 2019 at 12:08 pm By Roger Wolsey

I’ve long stated that Atheists and fundamentalists each tend to read the Bible in the same wooden, overly literalistic manner. The difference is that atheists reject what they read in that manner, while fundamentalists believe it. There’s a lot of truth to that – enough that it tends to piss off members of both of those groups off when they come across what I said. However, I’ve also said that All Christians pick and choose which portions of the Bible... Read more

Progressive Christianity isn’t Progressive Politics.

Last updated on: March 27, 2014 at 9:58 pm By Roger Wolsey

You’re a progressive Christian? So you’re a liberal Democrat right? Not so fast. Sometimes words that seem similar have little to do with each other. The chances for confusion increase especially in the case of heteronyms (words that sound the same and spelled the same, but have multiple meanings). The bear had to bear the burden of having to hail a cab to escape the hail in order to bail out her friend who was charged with bailing a... Read more

Christian Pastor Says Legalize Drugs?

Last updated on: January 4, 2014 at 1:24 pm By Roger Wolsey

I originally wrote this piece in 2010. Since then, my fellow Colorado voters have voted to legalize medical marijuana and have even more recently authorized recreational marijuana. Perhaps my words made a difference. I’m posting it today to help inspire more of my fellow Christians — in particular, fellow pastors, to come on board with this sensible way of viewing these matters. —– EVERY police officer in a town in Mexico recently quit their jobs for fear of their lives.... Read more

Is progressive Christianity a “Christmas monster”?

Last updated on: December 19, 2013 at 11:40 am By Roger Wolsey

“In 6-4 B.C., Yeshua of Nazareth was born into a humble peasant family in a tiny town in the backwater hinterlands of Palestine territory on the eastern edge of the Roman Empire. It doesn’t really matter if Jesus was born to an actual virgin or not – or even if he was born in Bethlehem for that matter. The point is moot. Either way, he grew up to be our savior. In fact, if Jesus wasn’t born to a virgin,... Read more

“Rock of Ages” – turning a blog into a “poetry-sermon.”

Last updated on: December 12, 2013 at 7:53 am By Roger Wolsey

I’m a blogger. I’m also a pastor. Some of my better sermons have sprung forth from blogs that I’ve written. I recently posted a blog seeking to convey the radicalness of Mary’s “magnificat” as described in Luke’s Gospel – “Jesus’ Mom was a Punk“. It was a very popular blog that many people shared around the internet. When something I post receives that much attention, I can tell that I’ve touched on something that speaks to people. It occurred... Read more

Jesus’ Mom was a Punk.

Last updated on: December 5, 2013 at 3:49 pm By Roger Wolsey

A punk rock band should do a song based on Mary’s “Magnificat” (the song she sung according to Luke 1:46-55). In the New Testament Mary’s real name is Miriam which literally means “their rebellion.” She and her people had a lot to rebel against. The Roman Empire oppressed it’s subject nations and was particularly hard on a nation on its far eastern Palestinian fringes. Israel/Judaea was a strongly monotheistic people and they resisted revering Caesar as God or Son of... Read more

A call to action about Iran

Last updated on: December 4, 2013 at 5:28 pm By Roger Wolsey

A proposal that may help secure world peace. Our nation is currently in negotiations with Iran regarding their pursuit of nuclear energy. We, and Israel, are concerned about Iran eventually seeking to create nuclear weapons as an extension of those efforts. The clock is ticking and we really only have 6 months left to get this resolved — as after that, we may never know what Iran has truly been up to. Therefore, I propose the following win-win resolution to... Read more

advent essence

Last updated on: December 4, 2013 at 9:29 am By Roger Wolsey

it isn’t about waiting for baby Jesus to be born again swaddled in a sty and it isn’t about waiting for Christ to return again from a cloud in the sky it’s about us deepening into God’s kingdom – liberated life for you and i roger wolsey Rev. Roger Wolsey is an ordained United Methodist pastor who directs the Wesley Foundation at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and is author of Kissing Fish: christianity for people... Read more