(a 13-minute podcast) John 3:16 is like the Lord’s Prayer—we all know it, but our very familiarity with this verse hides its profound message. We think we know what it means because we hear and interpret it through the theology we’ve grown up with. But I am convinced that the… Continue reading
God is best experienced as we reach out in compassion and love to others, especially those who are disenfranchised and discounted in our culture. If Jesus was correct in presenting a God who has proclaimed divine solidarity with “the least of these” of our world, then it’s natural to expect that we will find God best as we touch others in God’s healing and liberating name. Continue reading
Our culture has been blessed by the African American Howard Thurman who has been called the American prophet of soul. With an impressive career as an educator in some of the finest universities in the United States, Thurman was a poet, mystic, philosopher, and theologian. This morning I want to share… Continue reading
The church where Susan and I are members [Downey Ave Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)] ends each Easter service with our talented organist Monna Breland playing the “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s Messiah. Everyone in the sanctuary follows the custom of standing during this rousing piece of music. The tradition behind… Continue reading
(6 minutes) Over seventy years ago J. G. Bennett observed that we tend to see ourselves primarily in the light of our intentions, which are invisible to others, while we see others mainly in the light of their actions, which are visible to us. And so, he suggests, we often… Continue reading
The famous preacher Harry Emerson Fosdick told of the time a young man came into his office and announced with satisfaction, “I don’t believe in God.” Fosdick without batting an eye replied, “Tell me what kind of God you don’t believe in. Maybe I don’t believe in that kind of… Continue reading
(13 minutes) My ethics professor was Henlee Barnette. Barnette was from North Carolina and never abandoned his blue collar background nestled in the textile industry of the South. He was a wily, crusty old man who could argue circles around not only his students but fellow ethicists. He intimidated his… Continue reading
There is much talk about the need for a revival in the church today. The only revival I believe worth pursuing is one which is willing to be embraced by the divine imagination of a new creation. We need the alternatives Jesus offered just as much as those early disciples did. We need not remain paralyzed and stunted by our stymied hopes and defeatist expectations. Continue reading
In Edinburgh, Scotland in the home of the Protestant leader John Knox, is a display of religious memorabilia. Among the items are tokens in the form of coins given to members of the church after they had been examined by the Elders to determine if they were pure enough to… Continue reading
(The following sermon was preached on World Communion Sunday many years ago. For the blog I had to update the statistics regarding L’Arche. Jean Vanier is now ninety years old and still lives within the L’Arche community he founded fifty-five years ago.) One of the greatest saints living today is… Continue reading
