Drew Downs
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How Not To Solve a Problem
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1 min read
I find that the easiest part of a problem is testing to see if it’s a real problem. The hard part comes in knowing what to do about it. But I know two truths about problem solving: It doesn’t help to pretend that there is no problem. Or to confuse discussion for decision. If you…
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So Let Me Get This Straight
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8 min read
These first Followers of the Way kept telling the story. They seemed to know that the story was important. That the story was what they were to share. Story, Trinity, and living our theology Trinity Sunday | John 16: 12-15 I recently remarked that there are two days I don’t like preaching: Christ the…
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When you talk about bivocational ministry, what I hear is: We don’t value you. [bctt tweet=”The church’s way of saying – figure it out on your own. Oh, and good luck with that.” username=”revdrewdowns”] Put your money where your mouth is Most of us were raised with the idea that value comes from financial…
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Violence Doesn’t Teach What You Think
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1 min read
Violence doesn’t teach them to respect you. It teaches them the lengths you will go to have your way. We expect violence to communicate the complex thoughts, the most sophisticated of desires, the very contents of our minds, but it doesn’t make them mind readers. It doesn’t communicate what we want to communicate.…
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To Widen the Circle
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8 min read
Pentecost, with its loud, violent wind, its flaming tongues, and its utter chaos of voices which resound into a symphony of unity in diversity, is about GOD so utterly changing the game we still aren’t sure how to play it. The Spirit reveals and reconciles Pentecost | Acts 2:1-21 As Jesus ascends, two men appear and…
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How Failures Win: In Movements and In Life
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5 min read
Failing is good. Every day I remind myself. We call ourselves perfectionists because we’re in pain. We use perfectionism as a kind of diagnosis which makes us feel better about playing it safe or feeling hurt. The kind of imperfection that can become a badge of honor – the strength we pass off as a weakness…