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January 2025

January 05, 2025

Epiphany: Grace Beyond Borders and Traditions

(This post is from my sermon for January 5th based on Ephesians 3:1-12) Epiphany is...

October 2023

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 24, 2023

Is Seminary Worth It?

Is a seminary education worth getting? It is a major commitment to earn the Master...

February 2023

February 16, 2023

Populist Religion

People forget George Wallace was a populist. He is known as a white racist segregationist...

January 2023

January 23, 2023

A High View of Scripture?

The worst propaganda fundamentalists use is to claim "a high view of Scripture." In a...

December 2022

December 19, 2022

Bringing Them In?

Will we be bringing liberal secular people back to church? During a discussion I had...

November 2022

November 03, 2022

The Ridiculous Middle

There is the center. The point that is truly equidistant from the edges. Then there...

October 2022

October 11, 2022

Forgive Us Our Debts

Comparing sins to debts in Christian teaching and preaching is not as common as it...

October 06, 2022

4 Myths About Pastors

Christians, non-Christians, and just about everyone including seminarians believe a few myths about clergy. Today,...

October 03, 2022

The Gospel of Rights-Scolding

Anthropologist and essayist David Graeber coined the term "rights-scolding" to name the phenomenon of lecturing...

August 2022

August 01, 2022

Healing, Peace, and The Purpose of The Gospel

Healing and Peace are the great goals of the Gospel of Christ. They are the...

June 2022

June 30, 2022

A Death Cult

Fascism is a death cult. It does not matter what form or name it takes....

June 27, 2022

4 Pillars of The Illusion

How did we ever get to this point? What pillars did we build? The churches...

June 13, 2022

Avoiding Bible Abuse

Para-Church organizations regularly abuse the Bible. It is easy to do when one has an...

May 2022

May 24, 2022

I Never Knew That Until Now

Few things are more gratifying to a pastor or teacher as a person saying, "I...

May 06, 2022

Choice And Church

A friend told me she is avoiding church this week. She is making a choice...

April 2022

April 18, 2022

Crucifying Jesus On Easter

It happened yesterday. I did not see it. But some pastor or church somewhere crucified...

April 11, 2022

Just To Give You An Idea

The guide said it over and over again. "Just to give you an idea." An...

March 2022

March 17, 2022

Covenant Hope

I hope I am not violating any copyright or trademark protections with my title. I...

March 07, 2022

Beginning A Forty Day Journey

The story is about the end of Jesus’ forty days in the wilderness. We are...

February 2022

February 17, 2022

The Theology of Technology

Steve Jobs, it is said, woke up every morning to make some new piece of...

January 2022

January 24, 2022

Preacher Stories And Other Lies

We call them illustrations. Other people might say, "Preacher stories." Many times they are outright...

January 20, 2022

Christians Being Bad

Christians being bad is a common theme for bloggers. A few public examples come to...

January 13, 2022

Arguing With The Obstinate or Having Puking Contests With Buzzards

I know arguing with certain people only gives me indigestion. I am getting better about...

December 2021

December 20, 2021

The Woman We Forget at Christmas

We always talk about Mary during Advent and Christmas. Elizabeth is the other woman we...

November 2021

November 18, 2021

The Bible And Progressive Christians

I am about to spend an hour and a half in study that has nothing...

November 15, 2021

Heresy, Insanity, and The Destruction of the Faith of Jesus

Heresy is not often the equivalent of insanity. We who grew up during the cold...

September 2021

September 27, 2021

Nightmare of “Midnight Mass”

The new Netflix Series Midnight Mass is about a nightmare. It is a recurring one. People...

September 23, 2021

Bishop Spong And The Crisis For Liberal Clergy

The death of Bishop John Shelby Spong brought up the suspected accolades and condemnations from...