Drew Downs
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When shallow Christianity drowns in a mighty flood, the prosperity gospel is no life preserver. Joel Osteen had a terrible week. But that’s only because his devotion to the prosperity gospel put him there. It wasn’t God. I suppose this really is a kind of “reap what you sow” kind of moment. It was the…
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Repent of Power
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9 min read
In Matthew 16:21-28, we see not just a simple rejection of Peter for being stupid, but a rejection of the historic seducing power of power. Proper 17A | Matthew 16:21-28 Before he foretells of his death, Jesus warns his followers about the Pharisees. While it’s direct, it’s also cryptic and difficult. It’s a warning we’ve struggled to…
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Wrestling with the ethics of violence
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11 min read
Antifa, punching Nazis, accepting violence, and forcing greatness upon us As a lifelong pacifist, I abhor violence. All of it. But a long time ago, I gave my friends one exception: vampires. At the time, the movie Blade had come out and I found a way to make an exception for my pacifism. If I…
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Confederate Monuments aren’t people
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6 min read
We talk about confederate monuments as if they aren’t symbols of anxiety, racism, and a legacy of hate. I shouldn’t have to say it. It’s pretty evident. But we’re at a time in which truths are intentionally obscured. And this is one of those statements which is both literally and metaphorically true. Confederate monuments and…
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Changing the Image of Jesus
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8 min read
When Peter calls Jesus the Messiah, he gets the right answer the wrong way. A pattern we repeat in our fear of chaos and of intimacy. Proper 16A | Matthew 16:13-20 If you’ve ever watched a painter work a canvas, you see the very transformation of absence into presence. The white canvas gets swirled and…
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Free Speech. We all love it. None of us claim we want to restrict it. So what are we really fighting about when we fight about free speech? What isn’t there. I’ve started feeling like something’s missing. In our lives and conversations. Years ago, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert said it was civility. That we…