Drew Downs

Make a New Normal

  • The End of War

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    5 min read

    With the Iraq Conflict coming to its formal conclusion, it seems a worthy moment to reflect on war. Specifically, how our understanding of what war is has changed. The dictionary will have multiple definitions of war, but I think there are two essential understandings: A situation in which two or more entities publicly, intentionally, and…

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  • Don’t Be Afraid. I Really Do Mean It!

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    2 min read

    Text: Luke 1:26-38 In this morning’s gospel, we have what should seem absolutely crazy.  It doesn’t for two reasons: 1) its very familiar and 2) the virgin birth has been an ideological litmus test for fundamentalists as something to intellectually believe with deep-rooted conviction.  Rather than treating this like we do the rest of the…

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  • Please Don’t Wish Me a Merry Christmas

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    2 min read

    If you’re out there waging your insurgent campaign to defend Christmas from those that have invaded your holiday and claimed it for their own, apparently throwing Christ in lock-up and using enhanced interrogations against him, I’ve got one simple message to you: Don’t wish me a “Merry Christmas!” Please, for the love of all things…

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  • Parents: Crying It Out Is Not Best

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    4 min read

    As parents, we have all been there.  There has never been a child that G-d has given us that hasn’t cried for what feels like a little too long or at seemingly just the wrong time.  All parents have felt this stress. And every parent has lost it.  I remember a specific instance in which…

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  • New Danger For Our Climate

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    1 min read

    A new discovery of methane gas in the Arctic could spell trouble: Russian scientists have discovered hundreds of plumes of methane gas, some 1,000 meters in diameter, bubbling to the surface of the Arctic Ocean. Scientists are concerned that as the Arctic Shelf recedes, the unprecedented levels of gas released could greatly accelerate global climate change… Keep reading…

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  • Church: Club, Community, or Neither?

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    3 min read

    Awhile back I wrote about how much I hate announcement time.  Go back and take a look at it, because I feel justified in saying that.  Announcement time, as I’ve experienced it in the several congregations I’ve served has, for the most part, been a horrible train wreck.  This is mostly the case because it is…

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