A Portable Heaven
What kills our ability to trust our lives to the action of unseen spirit? Our fears, of course. We fear death because of the ultimate unknown it represents: whether anything we imagine ourselves to be continues. We fear God’s judgment
That is the Question
I’ve been getting a lot of questions about death lately. Things seem to come in cycles, and this apparently is that cycle. In the past week, I was asked about death from an eighteen-year-old girl and a sixty-eight year old
The Politics of Jesus
If Jesus were here today, would he be a Republican or a Democrat? Really? What I first thought had to be a rhetorical or facetious question was being asked in all sincerity. And the quick answer: that he would be
Christmas Truce
Christmas has become so familiar and ritualized that it may help to look for renewed meaning in the unlikeliest of circumstances, to travel from the traditional imagery of December in year one of the Common Era to a distant Christmas
Preacher Teacher
The purpose of a preacher is to persuade. The purpose of a teacher is to make students ready to engage. I’m a teacher. I’m also a pastor, so many people call what I do on Sunday mornings preaching. But it’s not—not any more
What God Wants
I’ve often heard pastors and televangelists talking about what God wants. What God wants us to do or feel or say or [mostly] give. I’ve always thought it fairly presumptuous to claim to know what God wants from our perch
Zero Sum and Abundance
In our modern western economy, our understanding of life itself revolves around zero sum, legality, and scarcity. On the other hand in God’s economy, Jesus is painting a very different picture of his and our Father constantly throughout the Bible. When
A Political Jesus
Is Jesus a liberal or conservative? I’ve read many commentators and scholars over the years who see in Jesus a political ideology or social cause. Whether liberal or conservative, no surprise they generally see him on their side of the spectrum
Here Be Dragons
I played football the first two years of high school. Well, I was on the team…didn’t play much. But for what I lacked in ability on the field I tried to compensate with what I could do well: study. I
First Person
Took my teenage son out to get bagels and cream cheese today. Between mouthfuls I asked about the new boy who came over last night with the usual neighborhood friends to hang in the back room. Turns out he’s another teen
