Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Progressive Christian

Uncategorized

Select a Category " obedience abortion accommodation accountability administration adolescence Advent advice an ordinary death anxiety apology apportionments Ash Wednesday ask thoughtfulpastor baptism betrayal Bible bondage calling certainty change character charity children Christianity Christmas church church as garden clergy clergy credentials closure comfort compassion competition compromise Confirmation conservation conservative conspiracy theories consumer conversion coronavirua corruption courage covenant cultural context death Deconstruction discipleship discord divorce doctrine doing good drugs dysfunctional Easter Easter; Resurrection education election entertainment envy escape evaluation evil exclusive church exercise faith faithfulness family fasting fear feast featured film review finances first world problem food forgiveness fundamentalist garden gay marriage General Conference generosity giving thanks GLBT glory good government grace guilt habit happy harmony hateful acts healing health health care heaven hell hello/goodbye heresy hidden agenda holiness homelessness homosexuality humility hymn hypocrisy Imago Dei In training inclusive church indulgence injustice innocents insurance intolerance itinerancy joy Justice kindness Kingdom of Heave kingdom of heaven language laughter laundry lawsuit leadership Lent LGBTQ liberal life Little Things Matter longform meandering thoughts memories mercy metaphor metrics miracle misfortunes morality Mormon Muslim mystery worship natural disasters New Category Name nutrients older adults oppression pain Paleo paperwork partnered pastor peace pension pharmaceutical placebo politics poverty prayer privilege public schools questions quiet racism rain reason reconciliation religion repentance requirements rescue respect rest resurrection retirement Sabbath sacrament sacred salvation same-sex marriage sanctuary schism schooling science SCOTUS secrecy separation of church and state sexism sexuality short cuts silence sin sleep soil spiritual journey stillness suffering surgery sustainable church teacher technology thank you theology therapy thinking tolerance TOS trust truth Uncategorized welcome Why Easter? wisdom women worship

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 December 2025 October 2025 September 2025 July 2025 June 2025 March 2025 February 2025 December 2024 November 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 April 2024 March 2024 January 2024 December 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 October 2022 September 2022 July 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 October 2021 July 2021 June 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 January 2020 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 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 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 July 2007 March 2007

March 2017

March 02, 2017

The Shack: a journey into grief and the questions of good and evil

That the love of God means the freedom for people to make their unimpeded choices...

February 2017

February 22, 2017

Help! What is a theocracy?

As messy as these multiple forms of beliefs have become, a theocracy would insist upon...

December 2016

December 30, 2016

Walking, weight loss and wishful thinking

These shoes have seen at least 800,000 steps since September of this year, probably more...

October 2016

October 10, 2016

The church then and today: the need to exclude defines us

Saturday was Sicily. We wandered in the small villages that Francis Ford Coppola inadvertently made...

October 09, 2016

This is not harmless locker room talk: Time for women to say NO MORE

My husband and I are currently in Europe. I was seriously hoping to be away...

August 2016

August 08, 2016

When an “anyone but Hillary” is married to an “anyone but Donald” part five

We have a 2 1/2-year-old granddaughter visiting for a while with her parents. Keep in...

July 2016

July 18, 2016

The TP ticket, law and order and the UMC

Well, the UMC just consecrated its first lesbian Bishop--that one even made the New York Times!...

June 2016

June 24, 2016

Brexit, Trump/Sanders and the UMC: time to say “good-bye”

I can't stop seeing the parallels: 52% of voters in Great Britain voted to leave...

June 21, 2016

Lord and Lady Peter and Marriage Equality

The long-pursued Harriet speaks with Lord Peter, the man who loves her and now wonders...

June 06, 2016

“Twenty Minutes of Action”–the new definition of rape

By now, I would guess that most have heard about this privileged Stanford student who...

May 2016

May 20, 2016

Theological Education and the Spread of the Gospel: Antithetical?

This morning at General Conference, we saw a heated debate about providing much, much more...

May 11, 2016

General Conference Day Two: And Are We Yet Caffeined Up?

I didn't get around to eating today. We left the house early and our live-in cook for...

May 10, 2016

General Conference, Day One, Late Afternoon

I'm tired. I admit it. And this is just the first day, and a half...

May 10, 2016

General Conference Day One: A Beautiful Morning for a Gay Ordination

OK, Portland is gorgeous. Lovely flowering bushes sweetly frame the craftsman-style bungalow, an Airbnb rental...

March 2014

March 20, 2014

The Celebrity Pastor Issue

Two “celebrity” pastors hit the religion news in the last week. One is internationally known...

December 2013

December 11, 2013

The Crusty Poinsettias; The Crusted Over Soul

Yearly, members of the church I serve order poinsettias to decorate the worship center during...

October 2013

October 01, 2013

And WHO is My Neighbor? (with apologies to Luke 10)

A certain man, life-long student of sacred texts, faithful in religious obligations, admired for doing...

September 2013

September 26, 2013

United Methodists, Take Notice: This May Be Our Future

United Methodists, take notice: an extremely prominent Presbyterian Church, Highland Park Presbyterian, is suing the...

March 2013

March 30, 2013

The Two Way Betrayal

It is Holy or Black Saturday and I'm deep in a place of emotional and...

March 27, 2013

Easter Conversation with God from a Troubled Pastor

Me: "OK, God, can't you see that I'm in the midst of doing all this...

March 13, 2013

Six Words

The race card project () has been inviting people to send in six word descriptions...

July 2012

July 03, 2012

Reflections Upon Heading Home

My bag is packed, and shortly I'll head out, flag down a taxi like the...

June 2012

June 11, 2012

Mystery Worship Six

Note: this is part of an ongoing series. Mystery Worship One is here; Mystery Worship Two is here; Mystery...

June 02, 2012

Prayers for Annual Conference; unanswered questions to be addressed

Two weeks ago, Bishop Bledsoe invited the clergy of the North Texas Conference into dialogue....

May 2012

May 25, 2012

Have We Lost Our Core Purpose?

Rev. Tom Griffith recently wrote an article about the structure of The United Methodist Church where...

May 03, 2012

The Streets of NYC and Thoughts on General Conference

I am now in New York City. But today is more a day of rest...

November 2011

November 15, 2011

The Cost of Silence

I can hardly add more to the sadly unfolding mess at Penn State where witnessed...

September 2011

September 28, 2011

Religion at Its Worst

Try typing into a search engine these words, "Saudi woman to be whipped for driving...

September 22, 2011

Pure Evil

I recently received an email with this image. The photo is by NY Times photographer...

July 2011

July 01, 2011

The Luminous Moment

I was sitting on the patio last night, reading and reflecting on some things we...

Related posts from The Thoughtful Pastor

Family

Five Thoughts About New Mercies And New Year's...

The Thoughtful Pastor

Family

I Just Said NO To God

The Thoughtful Pastor

Family

Just Imagine: Their Heaven Becomes Your Hell

The Thoughtful Pastor

Family

Joe Biden and Religion: Exploring His Faith

The Thoughtful Pastor

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Subscription Support Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In

Follow Patheos