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Select a Month December 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 December 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011

May 2016

May 26, 2016

Keep Christianity Weird: The Trinity, Mermaids, UFOs, and Holy Strangeness

Keep it weird. From Portland and Boulder to Austin and Asheville, “Keep It Weird” has...

August 2015

August 31, 2015

If All Lives Really Matter: The False Racial Unity of Glenn Beck’s Massive March on Birmingham

Contrary to what conservative pundits would have you believe, Black Lives Matter is not a...

August 03, 2015

Witnessing Murder: Spirituality and Emotional Trauma in the Age of Viral Violence

With unprecedented intimacy and frequency, Americans are becoming witnesses to murder. With the videos of...

March 2015

March 17, 2015

Leprechaun Traps and the Terrible Lessons They Teach

UPDATE: This afternoon, as my children and I continued to discuss whether it was okay...

February 2015

February 09, 2015

A Lent Where #BlackLivesMatter: 10 Ideas for Black History Month and the White Church

Dear White Christians, It’s February, and I know you’re probably very busy with your Lenten...

February 05, 2015

The Christian Response to the Measles Outbreak: Love Your Neighbor, Check Your Privilege, and Vaccinate Your Children

Look, I get that nostalgia is big right now. We've got more 19th century beards,...

January 2015

January 21, 2015

Making Room at Christ’s Table: The Gift of Progressive Christianity

You might underestimate how large the Christian umbrella is. This simple sentence appeared in red...

November 2014

November 26, 2014

#StayWokeAdvent, Ferguson & Apocalypse: A Lectionary Reflection

Follow #StayWokeAdvent contributions here and add yours, too! Oh that you would tear open the heavens...

March 2014

March 26, 2014

I Don’t Blame World Vision. I Blame Homophobia and Hate.

I don't blame World Vision for reversing their decision to accept employees in same-sex marriages....

March 19, 2014

The Gospel According to Hobby Lobby: When Corporations Get Saved

Does a corporation have religious rights? That is the question at the heart of Hobby Lobby's...

March 07, 2014

Into the Wild: A Lenten Homily Not About Temptation

Lent 1 — Year A — Gen. 2:15-17; 3:1-7, Psalm 32, Rom. 5:12-19, Matt. 4:1-11...

October 2013

October 04, 2013

The Worst Bad Word You Can Teach a Kid to Say

Whenever I’m angry or frustrated, I tend to say a very nasty, very ugly word....

July 2013

July 31, 2013

I Am Not A Drug: Why God Isn’t in the Business of Using People

Growing up, ministers would tell me that God wanted to use me. Even as an...

July 24, 2013

The Shameful Neighbor: Food Stamps, Stereotypes and the War on the Hungry (A Homily)

Proper 12 — Year C — Luke 11:1-13 There is no war on poverty in...

May 2013

May 28, 2013

Sleeping Through Storms: Rethinking Theodicy, Natural Disasters and God’s Omnipotence

God is not all-powerful. At least, not in the ways we tend to define power....

May 16, 2013

The Divine Protest of Pentecost

The God of Pentecost doesn't have an official language. This is the shocking revelation of...

May 15, 2013

Questions Not Answers: My Journey from Journalism to the Priesthood

In college, I thought that by the time I was 32, I would be working...

April 2013

April 15, 2013

Keeping Silence in Tragedy: In the Aftermath of Explosions

Violence and tragedy has again struck. And it is hard to know what to say,...

April 01, 2013

Easter for Doubters: The Unexpected Faith of Thomas (Lectionary Reflection for the Second Sunday in Easter)

It's Easter. Do not be afraid to doubt. Doubt boldly. Doubt joyfully. In fact,...

March 2013

March 13, 2013

The Lost Shepherd and the Amoral Love of God (Proper 19C Lectionary Reflection)

Lectionary Reflection - Proper 19 C - Luke 15:1-32 The Lord is my shepherd. I...

March 07, 2013

God is the Prodigal Son: Reinventing Christianity’s Most Beloved Parable (Lectionary Reflection)

Lent 4C — Sunday, March 10 — Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 God is irresponsible. Hopelessly...

March 04, 2013

The U.S. Supreme (Race) court: Roberts, Scalia and the Voting Rights Act

There is a wicked irony that as the United States marks the 50th anniversary of...

February 2013

February 18, 2013

DJesus Uncrossed: Tarantino, Driscoll and the Violent Remaking of Jesus in America

No doubt, a lot of people are upset, or are going to be upset,...

February 05, 2013

Pharaohs in America: On Beyoncé and blindspots

I am a pharaoh. Or at least, I am one of his people. As a...

February 04, 2013

A Defiant Dance of Power, Not Sex: Beyoncé, the Super Bowl and Durga

If what you saw onstage last night at the Super Bowl’s halftime show was a...

December 2012

December 18, 2012

Where God Weeps: Sandy Hook and the Myth of Redemptive Violence

God weeps. That, if anything, has been the primary theological response of Americans in the...

December 12, 2012

Born to Die?: Why the Cross Doesn’t Belong at Christmas

Yesterday, I passed a church sign that proclaimed Christmas was the story of a baby...

October 2012

October 03, 2012

Just Marriage: Jesus, Divorce and the Vulnerable (Lectionary Reflection)

Proper 22B/Pentecost 19 Mark 10:2-16 Earlier in the gospel of Mark, Jesus has a very...

October 02, 2012

Battle of the Sundays: Pulpit Freedom vs. World Communion

A curious thing is happening this Sunday in churches across America. For some, this curious...

October 01, 2012

The Transforming Death of God

This is the final post in a series on the death of God. Read part...