Over the last decade I taught an undergraduate introduction to world religions course more than two dozen times. From that experience, I learned the importance of having students self-assess their religious literacy during the first week of the semester in order to help them recognize just how much they did not know. Reflecting on these ungraded assignments, students often remarked that the exercise revealed that while they performed okay on questions about their own religion or the religion Read More …
Book Recommendations – August 2019 (#1816)
Over the last thirty days I've read many recently published books worth recommending. Published in 2019 (5+) Dear Church: A Love Letter from a Black Preacher to the Whitest Denomination by Lenny Duncan (Fortress Press, 2019) (5.0) Dignity: Seeking Respect in Back Row America by Chris Arnade (Sentinel, 2019) (5.0) We Speak for Ourselves: A Word from Forgotten Black America by D. Watkins (Simon and Schuster, 2019) (4.5) How to Human: An Read More …
God’s Doors Are Open To All (#1815)
Bright, beautiful, multi-colored doors dispalying the message "God's doors are open to all" greeted me as I entered Cathedral of Hope United Church of Christ's sanctuary this morning. Open Doors I was delighted to attend worship at Cathedral of Hope this morning for the congregation's anniversary service. From a group of twelve people gathering in a home 49 years ago, the Cathedral of Hope has grown to become one of the largest congregations in the United Church of Christ. Throughout Read More …
Embracing a New Spiritual Practice (#1814)
I just finished reading Alice Connor's delightful new book How to Human: An Incomplete Manual for Living in a Messed Up World (Fortress Press, 2019). Meet Alice Connor Connor, an Episcopal priest who leads a campus ministry at the University of Cincinnati called Edge House, is a master storyteller and a skilled discipler. She also has a gift for saying the things that others often leave unsaid. A Read More …
Living Christianly (#1813)
Yesterday I was drawn into conversation around two hashtags that were trending on Twitter: #ThingsJesusNeverSaid#FakeChristian Many people I follow and respect along with a host of unfamiliar individuals weighed in on one or both topics. A common thread in both streams was the critique of some who self-identify as Christian but seem to live in ways that are not consistent with Jesus' core teachings. The Good Samaritan Given all that is happening in our country and in Read More …
240 Months of Ministry (#1812)
A lot has changed in the 20 years since I started my first role in parish ministry. I've grown through my experiences. The church I know best - the Mainline Protestant variety - has endured significant decline. Time and Place During this time, I've served congregations in Texas and Florida affiliated with four denominations. In order to better understand just how much time I spent in each place I've lived and each congregation I served, I created the graph below showing the Read More …
Nationalism: Just Say No (#1811)
Many people have identity issues. Many Christians residing in America have an identity problem related to both being American and being Christian. Being American / Being Christian It is possible to both be American and Christian. It is not, however, possible to fully pledge one's allegiance to nation as that act necessarily makes nation one's primary commitment. Jesus made it clear that all who follow the Way of Jesus seek first the kindom (kingdom / realm / Read More …
Book Recommendations – July 2019 (#1810)
Summer has arrived. Over the last month I read ten books I appreciate enough to recommend. All of these volumes were published in the last two years. Published in 2019 (5+) Leaving the Witness: Exiting a Religion and Finding a Life by Amber Scorah (Viking, 2019) (4.5) The God Who Sees: Immigrants, the Bible, and the Journey to Belong by Karen Gonzalez (Herald Press, 2019)(4.5) Called to Forgive: The Charleston Church Shooting, a Victim's Husband, and the Path to Healing and Read More …
Top 5 Posts of 2019 (January – June) (#1809)
I've written more blog posts during the first half of the year this year than any year since 2015. My readers have selected the following posts as the top posts so far this year based on the number of page views each has received year to date. I’m Back: My Return to the Mansfield Mission Center (March)Our Search for a Church 2.0 is Over! (May)Book Recommendations – March 2019 (March)Visiting 50+ Churches in Dallas – Fort Worth (February)Top 12 Authors: 2009-2019 Read More …
We are the Kindom of God (#1808)
Over the last few days, I've been watching my social feeds for updates on the United Church of Christ's General Synod in Milwaukee, WI. Yesterday afternoon, I was able to watch the livestream of the worship service that included a sermon given by Rev. Traci Blackmon. Rev. Blackmon is Associate General Minister of Justice & Local Church Ministries for the United Church of Christ, and she serves as Senior Pastor of Christ The King United Church of Christ (Florissant, MO). I had the Read More …