This is part 1 of a 4 part series on Baptists, recorded by video for an instructional curriculum on mainstream Protestants over at this cool new online learning site for churches, ChurchNext (I know, I’m as surprised as you are that we made the mainstream list).  So much thanks to friend, teacher, mentor, superstar Dr. Rosalie Beck, for her help remembering what I learned in class 25 years ago.  Any inadvertent misinformation here is all mine, not hers! Talking about Baptists is tricky because, like... Read more

This is part 2 of a 4 part series on Baptists, recorded by video for an instructional curriculum on mainstream Protestants over at this cool new online learning site for churches, ChurchNext (I know, I’m as surprised as you are that we made the mainstream list).  So much thanks to friend, teacher, mentor, superstar Dr. Rosalie Beck, for her help remembering what I learned in class 25 years ago.  Any inadvertent misinformation here is all mine, not hers! I want to talk for a bit... Read more

This is part 3 of a 4 part series on Baptists, recorded by video for an instructional curriculum on mainstream Protestants over at this cool new online learning site for churches, ChurchNext (I know, I’m as surprised as you are that we made the mainstream list).  So much thanks to friend, teacher, mentor, superstar Dr. Rosalie Beck, for her help remembering what I learned in class 25 years ago.  Any inadvertent misinformation here is all mine, not hers! Have you ever been to the... Read more

This is part 4 of a 4 part series on Baptists, recorded by video for an instructional curriculum on mainstream Protestants over at this cool new online learning site for churches, ChurchNext (I know, I’m as surprised as you are that we made the mainstream list). I want to talk for just a few minutes now about why I’m a Baptist. A few years ago an informal Twitter survey about words that come to mind when you hear the name... Read more

I’ve been thinking about authentic faith community and how hard it can be to resist prepackaged, easy-fix approaches to being church.  Check it out over at ABP . Read more

Morality Tales Proverbs 3:5-6 We all have them, and some of us may, in fact, be them.  You know what I’m talking about: Facebook Friends who post inspirational quotes. Mind you, I am not opposed to inspirational quotes as a matter of principle.  A little inspiration every once in awhile never hurt anyone. I find reading a repeated barrage of inspirational quotes kind of akin to the feeling you get when you eat way too much Halloween candy.  Immediate high,... Read more

A Tax Collector Many Voices, One Story Luke 18:9-14 Some of you have heard me mention Arch books before.  Arch books are children’s books that tell bible stories, and their regular reading—first by grown-ups in my life and then on my own—were, though I didn’t know it then, the foundation of my ability to breeze through the required Introduction to the New Testament course in college. Among my favorite Arch books is the book that tells the story of today’s... Read more

Today a bunch of folks from Calvary met at church to learn some more about the work of one of our partners, the Downtown Cluster of Congregations.  We’re in a group of downtown congregations that helps employ a social worker doing outreach in our neighborhood, helping homeless folk get the services they need.  To raise money for this effort we all participated in a scavenger hunt organized by our super awesome mission board.  Here’s some visual evidence of my team’s... Read more

A Leper Many Voices, One Story Luke 17:11-19 Our gospel lesson today is about a leper.  Ten lepers, to be exact. I’m aware that, for most of us, thinking about leprosy is kind of an intellectual engagement: we know leprosy is largely eradicated these days; we know that it’s called Hansen’s disease; we know that it’s not nearly as contagious as it was once thought to be…in fact, it’s unlikely that very many of us have even ever met someone... Read more

Today we had a pastoral conversation after worship.  Here’s what I said: Thanks for sticking around for just a minute.  I want to have a short pastoral conversation together.  As many of you know, Pastor Leah submitted her resignation to church leadership on Wednesday; I wanted to just give you a little background and share a few details about moving forward. Since before Pastor Leah left on family leave, we’d been talking about the possibility of her returning to work... Read more