When the editors at Patheos posted my column on “Protestants and the Catholic Bishops” a week ago, they hi-lighted the passing reference that I made to the role that anti-Catholic prejudice might be playing in the article’s tagline.  Based on the work of Baylor’s Philip Jenkins, who describes anti-Catholicism as America’s last acceptable prejudice, I was fairly certain that it was at least one factor at work in shaping Protestant responses. But I winced at featuring the observation, because while... Read more

To any rap tune of your choosing: I want to say, There’s a big payday For the ones who say There’s just no way That Moses, Jesus, and Martin Pissed on religion But there’s just no way To make a case for that vision Yet another ill-informed commentator with a camera, a really great leather jacket, and a nice make up job has declared his preference for living down and dirty with the outcasts, choosing Jesus over religion.  It’s a... Read more

An art form that has captured my interest in recent years is sculpture.  There is something about the ability to craft a freestanding, three-dimensional object out of raw material that fascinates me. Any piece of art is, no doubt, born of the ability to imagine another world, but to nurture something that occupies our own space in height, breadth, and depth is born of a very specific genius. I am also struck by the hands-on nature of it all.  Unlike... Read more

I love it. It’s a great space. I worked there for three years.  We shouldn’t be spending federal money to repair it. But according to the Los Angeles Times, Mayor Vincent Gray is seeking 15 million dollars in Federal Emergency Management funds to help the Cathedral make the repairs needed after an earthquake rocked the limestone perched high above our nation’s capitol. Why not? One: the separation of church and state Far too many interpret the freedom we allow for... Read more

My thanks to the folks at Patheos for an invitation to participate in an on-line roundtable devoted to Richard Foster’s Sanctuary of the Soul.  Foster issues a fresh invitation to journey into God through meditative prayer. Exploring the way in which Scripture, icons, silence, and other practices can serve us on that journey, Foster succeeds in teaching us to pray without losing sight of the real invitation: a life of intimacy with God in Christ.  The post that follows is... Read more

I have the privilege of serving this year as chaplain to the Dallas Chapter of the American Guild of Organists.  I gave the brief homily that appears below at the opening convocation.  I have posted it here, for whatever value it may be to organists, other musicians, vocalists, and those who simply love music.  Psalm 96 Worship in the Splendor of Holiness Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth! 2 Sing to the Lord, bless his... Read more

Reflecting on the events of 9/11, one veteran journalist called the events of that day “a loss of innocence.”  According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the primary connotations of the word innocence (from the Latin, innocentia) are: 1. Freedom from sin, guilt, or moral wrong in general; the state of being untainted with, or unacquainted with, evil; moral purity. 2. Freedom from specific guilt; the fact of not being guilty of that with which one is charged; guiltlessness. 3. Freedom... Read more

This week marked the beginning of a new academic year.  As in years past, I have spent a few days describing the nature of our spiritual formation program to new students. Over a decade ago the program looked very different from the one we have today.  We relied on outside facilitators.  The student experience varied greatly.  And oversight for the program was assigned to someone whose primary responsibilities lay elsewhere.  The program was also required for certain degree programs, but... Read more

I work in both churches and the academy.  And, from time to time, people will preface their response to something I’ve said with the words, “Well, if you worked in the real world…” Frankly, all those comments demonstrate is how little people know about the church and the academy, where (as the saying goes) “the politics are so dirty because the stakes are so small.”  Both institutions could really afford to be a little less real, if by “real” what... Read more

The New York Times can’t stop reporting on “The News of the World” debacle.  They run two or more “news” articles a day and throw in an editorial — just in case the editorializing isn’t finished.  They devoted only one article to the work of American Bridge and stuck to “just the facts.” Aaron Fielding quietly stalks his prey — Republicans — with his video camera, patiently waiting for a political moment worthy of YouTube.  At 27, he is a full-time... Read more