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September 2026

September 09, 2026

The Alternate Path After 9/11

Twenty-five years ago, life in the USA paused. A week later, it restarted and chose...

March 2026

March 30, 2026

Our Shadow in the White House

It was during a discussion with other clergy when I blurted what suddenly seemed obvious....

January 2026

January 22, 2026

Speaking the Truth in Love

"Speaking truth to power" is a worn-out catchword phrase. It has outlived its usefulness. We...

June 2025

June 11, 2025

The Kingship Problem

"When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to...

May 2024

May 22, 2024

Support for Pope Francis from a Separated Brother.

An Egyptian Coptic Christian once asked me, "Do Methodists follow the Pope in Italy?" My...

January 2024

January 15, 2024

Contentment Under The Fig Tree?

Isaiah and Micah include a well-known prophetic utterance. The second chapter of Isaiah and the...

December 2023

December 12, 2023

Mary Weeps

We are familiar with the phenomenon of weeping statues of Mary. I once heard the...

December 07, 2023

Repenting The Family Business

The prophet Elijah was instructed to find Elisha, the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah, and...

November 2023

November 27, 2023

Does American Christianity Always Get It Wrong?

We do not always get it wrong. It just appears that way too many times....

November 02, 2023

The Spirit And The Land

A favorite essay of mine is Wendell Berry's The Gift of Good Land. It is not...

October 2023

October 30, 2023

The Tombs of the Prophets

American Christians focus on any empty tomb. But we rarely speak publicly about occupied tombs....

October 09, 2023

Columbus Day And Israel

Israel declares war the day before our Columbus Day. What an interesting time for reflection?...

October 02, 2023

The Child With Integrity

It is often advisable to admit you do not know the answer rather than bluff...

September 2023

September 12, 2023

Jesus Came To Church

Jesus showed up just after I began my sermon Sunday morning. He was in the...

August 2023

August 21, 2023

Religious Propaganda

The Bible has religious propaganda within its pages. Some friends of mine will say it...

July 2023

July 10, 2023

Imagined Injuries

Church folk sure like going to court. Imagined injuries now make laws and policies. The...

June 2023

June 08, 2023

Awakened at The Inn

I was awakened by the innkeeper's servant. She was a young girl who had been...

May 2023

May 25, 2023

Christian Government: A Fallacy

Aristotle claimed the best form of government is a monarchy while the worst is tyranny....

May 18, 2023

Bigfoot And The Ascension

Young clergy know certain days are going to be important in their work. Ascension Day...

May 16, 2023

Designated Readers

Is it correct to call clergy the designated readers of the church? "My therapist tells...

May 08, 2023

Heartbreaking Addiction

A friend died from a heartbreaking addiction. I mean that literally. When I first heard...

May 04, 2023

Where The Bible Is Silent

It is a slogan we hear, "where the Bible is silent, we are silent." It...

May 01, 2023

Lonely Elijah

One can either be lonely or alone. Loneliness is a terrible feeling. We feel unloved,...

April 2023

April 27, 2023

Eternal Life, Eternal Being

What does John mean when the writer promises eternal life? A critic recently said all...

April 17, 2023

Communing With Judas

It is a common holy week theme. Can you sit with your Judas? Do we...

April 11, 2023

3 Days Is All It Takes

Why did Jonah need to stay in the belly of the fish for 3 days?...

April 06, 2023

No, Jesus Did Not Walk Out of the Tomb

The canonical gospels never show Jesus walking out of his tomb. Yet, popular memes on...

April 03, 2023

Free To Love

Paul says "For freedom Christ has set us free." (Galatians 5:1) I for one am...

March 2023

March 16, 2023

The Call To The Wild

Hearing the divine call would affirm so much for us. People ask me when I...

March 06, 2023

The Gift of Community

Community is a gift. True community is based on some sort of gift economy. It...