Text: Matthew 28:1-10 Sermon Excerpt Pam Driesell, a Presbyterian pastor, tells a story of her good friend Mary’s recent Easter experience. To make sure her four-year old daughter Elena really understood what Easter is all about Mary tried talking to her about it. "Mommy, will the Easter bunny bring me purple jelly beans?" I am sure he will bring you jelly beans, Elena. But, remember, Easter isn't about the bunny. It's about Jesus. "But will they be purple?" Yes, honey, I am sure Read More …
Discipleship
Homeless Jesus Statue (#1391)
St. Alban's Episcopal Church (Davidson, NC) recently installed a $22,000 bronze statue of a homeless Jesus on a park bench on their church campus. Created by Canadian sculptor and devout Catholic Timothy Schmalz, this provocative artistic addition has created significant controversy in and beyond this wealthy small town. In his recent article on this new homeless Jesus, John Burnett writes: The sculpture is intended as a visual translation of the passage in the Book of Matthew, Read More …
A Sensory Maundy Thursday Service (#1389)
This Maundy Thursday, I will be participating in a service unlike any I have ever experienced. Ron Thompson, Interim Associate Minister at the United Church (Marco Island, FL), has designed a sensory experience that will offer worshipers the opportunity to rotate through five sense specific stations: Smell: anointing oil Sound: Taizé music Sight: stained glass Touch: foot washing Taste: Holy Communion/Eucharist/Lord's Supper So What? While every congregation I have served Read More …
Check Your Privilege (#1387)
I rarely click through when I see friends sharing their score to the latest quiz, but I did a few days ago after seeing a number of posts on my Facebook feed declaring just how privileged people were based on their response to a rather lengthy checklist. As I took the assessment, I realized my score would be high. I was, however, surprised by just how high it was, and that this placed me in the "you're the most privileged category." So What? I invite you to take the quiz, and to reflect Read More …
Implied Institutional Messages (#1386)
Jim Palmer, ordained minister turned activist in the non-religious spirituality movement, offers several implied messages of the institutional church based on Marshall McLuhan's frequently quoted premise that the medium is the message. The first three are especially troubling as we begin Holy Week: church is a place, a location, a building; Christianity happens in services, classes, meetings, events, and programs; and what people need most is good information about God. So Read More …
Sermon: Competing Expectations (#1385)
Sermon Text: Matthew 21:1-11 Sermon Excerpt Scholars rarely agree on much of anything, but when it comes to Palm Sunday there is a general consensus that this is the beginning of the final week of Jesus’ earthly life – at least inasmuch as life had always been understood. If we lived back in this era, I think our individual decisions about whether or not to attend the parade would have been focused on our understanding of Jesus’ ministry up until this moment. We cannot really imagine Read More …
Labyrinth Dedication (#1379)
Two days ago, on a beautiful sunny 80 degree afternoon, the outdoor labyrinth at the Naples United Church of Christ was dedicated in a simple but moving service. In keeping with the intentionally public always welcoming placement of this new labyrinth the service was open to all and concluded with an invitation to linger and walk. So What? The Rev. Dr. Lauren Artress, founder of Veriditas and the world's foremost expert on the labyrinth, was present to lead an all day workshop prior to Read More …
Sermon: Thirsting for More (#1378)
Sermon Text: John 4:5-15, 19-26, 39-42 Sermon Excerpt This morning I want to offer a history lesson: a lesson in the shifting nature of American spirituality since the 1950s. Don’t worry. This isn’t a doom and gloom account of the decline of Christianity or an attempt to idealize an earlier era. Instead, it is an effort to help give names to changes almost everyone here has lived through. Robert Wuthnow, an esteemed sociologist who has taught for many years at Princeton where Read More …
Progressive Identity (#1377)
Many people think of the United Church of Christ as a progressive Protestant denomination. Since it is a congregational tradition, it is important to note that this tradition features congregations and members with views all across the theological continuum. Individual congregations that claim progressive as a core part of their identity should be intentional in communicating that message. Recently I encountered an exemplary example of how to tell the progressive story well on Read More …
A Unique Lenten Discipline (#1374)
Last year I shared the story of an unusual Lenten discipline: Shawnthea Monroe, senior minister of Plymouth Church, chose to wear a collar for Lent. This year, I encountered an even more unique Lenten discipline: wearing orange prison jumpsuit. Kent McKeever, a Baptist youth minister at Seventh and James Baptist Church and an attorney who represents indigent clients through Mission Waco, is wearing the orange jumpsuit throughout Lent "to draw attention to Read More …