Drew Downs

Make a New Normal

  • The Problem Is We Treat White Nationalists Like They Are Honest

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    15 min read

    We seem to treat White Nationalists like their hate is normal. Like they’re the obnoxious kid we have to tolerate. Even after they’ve proven they’re more likely to be the sociopath threatening our community. A few years ago I was concerned by a growth in cyber-bullying. And at the time, it seemed like there was more to…

  • The Art of Love

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    7 min read

    In overturning the tables in the temple and reimagining Sabbath law, Jesus invites us into a new relationship to our work. Not as adherents and citizens, but as artists and co-creators. Jesus invites us to be artists collaborating in a global masterpiece Lent 3B  | John 2:13-22 This church may have a lot of doors…

  • This Got Me Thinking About Our Society

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    7 min read

    Cynicism is destructive. And it’s turning our society into something we don’t want. But solutions are all around us. We just need to listen to the voices which help us see them. Listening to podcasts is like research. Most of the time, you get what you expect and it informs your worldview. But then there…

  • Condemning Our Fear of Silence

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    8 min read

    In the first Passion prediction in Mark 8:31-38, Peter speaks when he should be listening, revealing how important it is to listen — because we’re likely to get the mission of Jesus wrong. We are so bothered by silence, we struggle to hear Jesus Lent 2B  |  Mark 8:31-38 This story of Jesus is one…

  • Love Awakens

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    9 min read

    Another shooting, further proof of the dangerous social pathologies in the American body politic, could be just a number. But instead, it’s awakening the spirit of love long dormant and suppressed by fear and a narrow understanding of freedom. Last week, I had to write a new sermon. The gospel was about the beginning of…

  • The Frightening Case Of a Coming American Collapse

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    7 min read

    The United States is in the midst of a social collapse. That’s the claim Umair Haque makes in an electric essay. Here are his three main takeaways. If the United States were to collapse, how would we know it? We think we’d know, right? Structures would fall, the banks would run out of money, and…