• The Divine Dance reveals why the substance of faith is the space between us.

    The Divine Dance reveals why the substance of faith is the space between us.

    “Bad theology is like pornography–the imagination of a real relationship without the risk of one.” And with that, William Paul Young’s forward to The Divine Dance sets the table for what follows. And propels us into the very substance of our faith. We explore what it is we’re seeking. And why it is we expect more…

  • On Purpose

    On Purpose

    Drive What drives you? What gets you out of bed in the morning and puts one foot in front of the other, stumbling to the coffee pot? You get up and you move. I wake up and I drink water and shower and dress and get my kids to school. I don’t want them to…

  • Sharing a birthday with FDR

    Sharing a birthday with FDR

    I don’t know why it feels like an awesome responsibility. That sharing of a birthday. It’s not like he’s here to steal some cake. To the disconnected from the cosmic togetherness, the idea of sharing a birthday with anyone is meaningless. Coincidences are like that. Life has no meaning. We’re just so reasonable. For those…

  • I don’t want your binary world.

    I don’t want your binary world.

    I DON’T WANT YOUR BINARY WORLD I don’t want your binary world. You can keep it. It’s no gift, really. A curse actually. Long distance arguments turn into brief skirmishes in a decades-spanning war. My every little expression dissected, deconstructed, injected, transformed into a wild assumption making me look like an ass and you and…

  • Respond – The Beatitudes bless us in seeing

    Respond – The Beatitudes bless us in seeing

    I don’t know what the disciples expected when they followed Jesus up the mountain. Maybe a great wisdom. They hadn’t been following him long. They visited a few cities in the region. So they were just getting to know the man. And he goes up the mountain. They follow. And he unveils the very dream…

  • Why we don’t really want an accurate count of homelessness.

    Why we don’t really want an accurate count of homelessness.

    When I was a teenager, I was part of Youth Volunteer Corps; a non-profit geared toward teaching youth about community service. For me, it was visionary, collaborative, and remarkably effective. And it always struggled to get funding. As part of a national organization with a common mission to both revitalize communities and build up young…

  • How a slashed tire reveals the gospel

    How a slashed tire reveals the gospel

    Saturday I found out that my back tire was slashed. Nothing says “good morning” like a neighbor telling you the day’s plans are derailed for you and maybe 30 other people. That’s how many others were in the same boat. All afternoon, I saw others scoping us out. It felt like a “You too?” or…

  • Adversity and the Divine Liberator

    Adversity and the Divine Liberator

    There’s a seam in our story this morning. One in which, if you’ve been following along, might cause some difficulty. It’s a small thing, really. Last week, we meet Andrew and another in the gospel we call John as disciples of John the Baptist. This week, in Matthew they’re fishermen. A small matter, but significant.…