Tag: Church

  • Failing a Father

    This guest post by Registered Runaway on Rachel Held Evans’ blog is too powerful to ignore. “Church Stories: Forgive them, Father” I want a church in which we can all celebrate and live up to the type of fatherhood described in the story. And their children inspire us to be better fathers as this one…

  • Let the good stuff out

    a Homily for Proper 17B Text: Mark 7:1-23 Those Dirty Hands You may have noticed that I read the whole gospel pericope, not the shortened version in the lectionary. The primary reason is because the full story makes more sense than the edited version. The second reason is because what was removed is the part…

  • Liberating Pentecost

    Liberating Pentecost by David R. Henson is a must read before Sunday!

  • For Good, He Leaves

    a Homily for Easter 7B Text: John 17:6-19 Jesus leaves twice. We forget that. We celebrate Jesus dying and rising again. But Jesus doesn’t rise like a ghost on the way up to the clouds. Jesus comes to his disciples and clears the air. Think of it this way. In preparing for his death, Jesus…

  • On Baptizing My Son

    On Baptizing My Son

    We often speak of being “off duty” when not at work. We speak of our work days and the double lives of “work me” and “real me”. For the presbyter, there is no such distinction. Or at least there shouldn’t be. The toxic effects of split roles in ministry are numerous. So for clergy, there is…

  • Church: Club, Community, or Neither?

    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…

  • 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…