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WHAT I DO: Pastor, Community Organizing, Justice Advocacy, Parent, Spouse, General Adulting Stuff

THINGS I ENJOY: Good food. No. I mean REALLY good food. Being a Presbyterian. Movies. Jazz. A really friendly local coffee shop with free WiFi

DISCLAIMER

Contents may be inflammatory. If you suffer from 100% confidence in the what you learned in childhood, or 100% doctrinal certitude, or if you don't like it when someone nudges your metaphorical cheese, consult somebody else.

Recent Posts

  • Filed Under: Things They Never Taught Me In Seminary
  • I need coffee
  • Reparations and Repentance, part 1
  • Reconciliation Ambassadors
  • What it means to be “woke”: An activist’s confession for this time
  • Follow the Magi
  • What Are We Going to Do?
  • Repentance is Now
  • Things that Make for Peace: Thoughts on a Department of Violence Prevention

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  • About
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  • Sermons
    • A Message from the Grave
    • Ah, Lord God!
    • Can I Get A Witness?
    • Change is Hard
    • Do You Believe?
    • Fearfully and Wonderfully Made
    • Following Jesus: The Chaos of Discipleship
    • Heating Up the Lukewarm Church
    • If only you were here…
    • Magically Transformed: Eastertide Sermon Series
    • Not Heroic, Just Faithful
    • Not What We Expected
    • Passing Through
    • Rainbow Connections
    • Signs, Signs, Everywhere Signs
    • The Boring Story of the Prodigal Son
    • The Dreaded Plumb Line
    • The Fire of Peace
    • THIS is the Year!
    • We’ve heard it said…
    • What to do about hope.
    • Willing to be loved
  • Weddings
    • 13 Coin Blessing (Arras)
    • A Christian Wedding Reflection
    • Formal Religious Ceremony for an Older Couple
    • Garden Wedding (Christian with humor)
    • Lasso Blessing
    • Non-religious simple, multicultural ceremony
    • Sample Bilingual Spanish Non-Religious Ceremony

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Tag: religion

Filed Under: Things They Never Taught Me In Seminary
education, paradigm shift, pcusa, presbyterian, small church, Transform

Filed Under: Things They Never Taught Me In Seminary

When church leaders (clergy especially) get together, the talk sometimes turns to what we know, what we need to know and what we never knew we needed to know. This is also known as the “Things they never taught me in seminary” conversation. Continue reading Filed Under: Things They Never Taught Me In Seminary

Repentance is Now
preaching, repentance, sermon, Suffering

Repentance is Now

Jesus isn’t concerned about the cause and effect nature of their unjust death.  What he is interested in is the wake-up call that such events provided.  Continue reading Repentance is Now

More Than a Bumper Sticker
church, community, immigration, Justice, politics, preaching, sermon, Suffering

More Than a Bumper Sticker

Charged with the responsibility of behaving toward each other the way God behaved through history toward them, they were failing. Miserably. And when Micah spoke, this wasn’t a new teaching. And they knew it. Continue reading More Than a Bumper Sticker

When We (White, CISgender people) Plan Things
church, community, covenant network, interdenominational, Justice, lgbtq, more light, pcusa, UNCO

When We (White, CISgender people) Plan Things

Today, and in light of everything that faces trying-to-be-progressive Christians in our country at this time, this letter and what it means is really the straw that has broken this particular camel’s back. So… Continue reading When We (White, CISgender people) Plan Things

Following a Different Messiah
hope, immigration, Justice, Oakland, pcusa, Poetry, politics, presbyterian, sermon, Social Media, Twitter, church, #chsocm, Transform

Following a Different Messiah

The truth that for Muslims, for LGBTQ people, for People of Color in our country, this has always been the reality of their experience. For these communities, none of this is new. None of it. Continue reading Following a Different Messiah

God is With Us, Calling Us Still
church, community, Election, Oakland, paradigm shift

God is With Us, Calling Us Still

This letter was sent to the folks at First Presbyterian Church of Oakland on the day after the General Election … Continue reading God is With Us, Calling Us Still

community, hope, paradigm shift, pcusa, small church

Bleeding Body

I am responding here to an article published by The Presbyterian Outlook and the comments of a Director (Elder John … Continue reading Bleeding Body