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August 2014

August 05, 2014

Peach and Potato: A Parable

Listen: Yesterday I went to rural Missouri with some youth and other church folks. We...

May 2014

May 27, 2014

Dig In: 10 Ways to Find Your Feet in a New Place

Hey. I haven’t had much to say lately. I’m not sure why that is, other...

May 05, 2014

Life Out There: Celebrating 5 Years of Patheos

As a writer, I live 'in here,' in my head much of the time. As...

April 2014

April 24, 2014

A Doctor, A Pastor, and a Car Salesman…

No, they're not walking into a bar. But perhaps they should... Here's what I know...

April 18, 2014

In New Skin, Again

Yes, this is what I do when I should be working on sermon notes, or...

March 2014

March 27, 2014

Buzzfeed Your Soul: Which Whatever Are You?

Which Downton Abby character are you? Buzzfeed wanted to know. Ok, fine. I’ll play. I...

February 2014

February 20, 2014

We Who Are Alive (or, 10 Reasons the Church Ain’t Dead Yet)

"The mainline church is in decline." "Religious leaders no longer carry any authority in the...

January 2014

January 22, 2014

Showing Up

I never know what to say when someone thanks me for making a hospital or...

January 15, 2014

Mailing, Failing, and Yard Sign Nailing

DEAR CHURCH DOWN THE ROAD*: I wanted to thank you for your excellent marketing approach...

November 2013

November 06, 2013

$*^! Jesus Says: The Dumb Questions Edition

You have heard it said that there are 'no stupid questions, only stupid answers.' But...

August 2013

August 06, 2013

The Sacred Maybe

I have a boy who is almost 3, but he's been talking like 4 since...

July 2013

July 26, 2013

Parking, Free for All (?)

My church shares space with a secular preschool. It is a WONDERFUl school. As far as I know,...

June 2013

June 01, 2013

On Enjoying the Show

I remember when dance recital week was the busiest/most stressful week of the year. I...

May 2013

May 26, 2013

My Ordinnaversary

Nine years ago—this weekend exactly—I was ordained to Christian ministry. I remember a few things...

May 01, 2013

Rootless and Wandering

If you ever wonder what pastors talk about when we get together, the topics are,...

April 2013

April 04, 2013

To Witness

I've got a testimony. That's a word we don't throw around in mainline progressive circles...

March 2013

March 06, 2013

Prepare the Way: Why I Need Carbs (and Coffee) for Lent

This week, Patheos asked its bloggers to reflect on spiritual practices that we find especially...

February 2013

February 22, 2013

Snow Days, Sick Days, and Other Enforced Sabbaths

I made the mistake of saying out loud last week that I hadn't been sick...

February 15, 2013

The New Anonymous

My friend Matt over at the Board of Church Extension wrote a great piece about...

February 06, 2013

Zumba-dy Stop Me

Not surprisingly, my reasons for not going back to Zumba are the very reasons that...

December 2012

December 22, 2012

Filled with Good Things

Rev. Brandon Gilvin is the Associate Director of Week of Compassion, and he is also a...

November 2012

November 28, 2012

An Empty House

A Tao of Christmas shopping, from a wannabe minimalist: So, i buy most of my...

September 2012

September 06, 2012

The One Where I’m the Grownup

Find a person who is good at what they do, and ask them a simple question:...

April 2012

April 24, 2012

Under Pressure

God spoke to me today. I love when that happens. I hate when that happens....

February 2012

February 01, 2012

Showing Up

I can think of many movies that i love, but my all-time favorite has to...

October 2011

October 30, 2011

A Sign and a Wonder

Every year, in what i call "stewardship season," i revisit Brueggeman's "The Liturgy of Abundance."...

September 2011

September 10, 2011

Soul Seasons

A pumpkin latte in my hand. From Not Starbuck's. A cool crisp 62 degrees out....

September 09, 2011

For Such a Time as This

I was sitting on the floor of my crummy first-year-of-being-a-grownup apartment, doing grad school homework...

September 08, 2011

The Sacred Struggle

"The middle ground lies in the struggle. The acceptance that, when violence becomes necessary to...

September 07, 2011

Suck it Up

Ultimately, as a society, we suck on alot of things that make us sick. And...