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For Newt Gingrich It’s the Labor in Child Labor
The headline should read: Presidential Candidate Eager for Gilded Age‘s Return Instead it reads: Newt Gingrich: Child Labor Laws Are ‘Stupid’ Gingrich’s position is, of course, more nuanced than it sounds. And you have to give him credit for this characteristic bit of brainstorming on his part. But, as is always the case with this…
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Fox News Viewers: Less Than Ignorant?
You have to admit that there are some things that you know intuitively and when they are confirmed, it is all less shocking than it should be. Having said that, it was still pretty amazing to see this headline: “Fox News Viewers Know Less Than People Who Don’t Watch Any News: Study.” The study, which…
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From Division, Unity (full sermon)
a Sermon for Proper 29A Text: Matthew 25:31-46 Now what was that about the goats? I saw a comment online a week or so ago about these gospel readings we’ve had that said something to this effect: What horrible readings for stewardship season! This morning’s gospel, like the last few weeks have been a pretty…
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From Division, Unity
The Last Sunday after Pentecost: Matthew 25:31-46 We all know the parable about the sheep and the goats. The easy reading of this parable is that it has to do with division—sheep/goats, left/right—and eschatology—how time is completed/the end times. It clearly looks like that. But I don’t buy it. And neither should you. The context…
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Just Cut the Church Programs
For several weeks I’ve been writing about engaging different groups in church. Then I wrote about dealing with time constraints and what it means for planning. Now, I am making a personal appeal for an entirely different approach: it is time to get rid of our programs. As Phyllis Tickle adeptly outlines in The Great…
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Changing the Church is Like Changing Diapers
For many, the idea of change in the church is like being asked to change diapers. It is…unpleasant. They are messy, stinky, and unpredictable. Sometimes the odor is unbearable. And sometimes the entire exercise gets you covered in it. Not to mention the times in which the baby pees directly on you! Even those that…
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Using My Time’s Gonna Cost Ya’!
Yesterday I wrote that when we claim we don’t have enough time for church, it is really code for “I don’t want to”. Today I’ll say that living in the U.S. right now is like living in a time-sucking vortex of anxiety and despair. Or maybe that’s just what it feels like when I get 30 minutes…
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Not Enough Time
In church, we make the excuse that we don’t have enough time, but what we really mean is, “I don’t want to.” I don’t want to volunteer or I don’t want to miss my son’s soccer game or I don’t want to put one more thing on my plate. I don’t want to contribute. I…
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