Drew Downs

Make a New Normal

  • Look Up

    •

    6 min read

    There’s something hinky going on here. Jesus and Nicodemus and this late night visit. And how each of us comes to see this moment speaks to how much we trust in Jesus and how much we trust in our own experience. Who is this man, and why does Jesus give him such a hard time?…

  • Why Hating Sin Means You Hate People

    •

    9 min read

    The collateral damage of sin hunting and fighting for ideological purity We met where we normally do: the kitchen. He was making coffee for the AA group that meets in the parish hall several nights each week. I was returning for another cup. He thanked me for letting them be there: “You’re the only ones…

  • ‘All ministry begins…’

    •

    1 min read

    #servantleader #woundedhealer

  • I don’t recall

    •

    5 min read

    I hate lies. But for me, it doesn’t end there. I hate when we encourage lies over honesty. How easy it is to conveniently forget. To ignore the truth. To misremember on purpose. Or just happen to not remember at a critical moment. “I don’t recall,” we say. Our brains are funny things, really. While…

  • Tempted

    •

    7 min read

    This is the first thing after. A thousand things he could’ve done. Jesus is the Messiah, right? The Son of God. There’s probably a few pressing things God needs done around the place. The first thing he has to do after his baptism is to go into the wilderness to be tempted. Lent 1A  |…

  • What a talk about pensions taught me about making change

    •

    3 min read

    A room full of clergy learning about changes to their pension fund is the last place I’d look for inspiration. And it’s a pretty safe guess you wouldn’t look there, either. But a funny thing happened. You don’t need to know anything more about the situation than that. It’s the sort of place which suffocates…