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What is a Christian?
What is a Christian? The short answer is that there isn’t one definition. Never has been. From the very beginning, Christians are a loose collection of people with overlapping theistic belief. Today, given our media coverage and infighting, that truth may be hard to see. Throughout history, we have tried to name common belief with…
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Breaking the rules with Jesus
We are so much like the Pharisees. We really are. We focus on the rules, not their purpose or how they encourage us to build strong relationships with GOD, one another, and the wider community. That is their purpose: those relationships. The rules are supposed to lead us to GOD. But we rather stay where we’re at…
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Why Style is Not the Problem with Church
One of the easiest fights in church is over worship music. Everyone has an opinion and feels comfortable sharing it. Another is liturgical style: how we worship and the tools we use in our worship. For centuries we heard snide remarks that “smells and bells” in church was “papish” and “Roman”, spitting these claims like…
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When the Leader Is Not the Problem
We are eager in the U.S. to blame our leaders and hold them responsible for our dysfunction. I am now realizing that this often should not be the case. Or, to be honest, it should rarely be the case. A friend reminded me in the spring as I spoke to him about some structural plans…
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From Ferguson to the Washington Football Team
The one thing that can describe everything in my Facebook feed today is this: all of our news right now involves victims of racism. We can call it something else, because we white folks want to feel better about ourselves than we deserve to feel, but systemic racism is the source of everything right now.…
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Creationism Isn’t Christian
No, I didn’t watch Bill Nye debate Ken Ham. I’m not interested. Besides, it wasn’t for me. It was for two kinds of people: crazy confused people and people who think they have to listen to crazy confused people to be a good Christian. That may sound pretty crass, but this wasn’t a mainstream debate. This…
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The Foundation of Faith
a Sermon for Epiphany 2A Text: John 1:29-42 The Foundation How strange this sight must have been for John the Baptizer. So many baptisms and among them is Jesus, the Messiah, the one whose way John is preparing. What John the Baptizer experiences is so significant that he testifies to its power: the Spirit made…
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The Christmas Dilemma
We have two Christmases. We have the one about Santa, gifts, Frank Sinatra & Nat King Cole, snow, generosity, Christmas Spirit, laughter, letting other people cut in line, inviting friends over. The one in which we watch A Christmas Story for 24 hours straight and open presents in Christmas pajamas. The one in which we are…