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Removing Our Stumbling Blocks
In Matthew 17 and 18, Jesus reveals the way stumbling blocks get in the way of God’s mission. Including our obsessions with rules and borders. Proper 18A | Matthew 18:15-20 A few years ago, a celebrity pastor got in trouble. He was the darling of the new reformed movement for his high doctrine, aggressive style,…
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The Prosperity Gospel can’t protect Joel Osteen from Harvey
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
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
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
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
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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What We Always Leave Out Of Our Conversations About Free Speech
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…
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11 Things I Will No Longer Tolerate
Wrestling with what we’re willing to tolerate is healthy. And necessary. Tolerance has come up a lot lately. We test the limits of what we’re willing to tolerate and what it means to be tolerant. It’s the sort of idea that comes and goes with the rise and fall of tragedies and terror. And I…
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