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“You’re a Minister!? But You’re a child!”
I was graciously invited to an interfaith dinner at an area UCC church. I always welcome the opportunity to break bread with people of differing and diverse belief traditions to celebrate and recognize...
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Drag Gospel and the Vulnerability of Worship
This new generation of seekers wants to come real. They want beauty, mystery, transcendence—but not at the cost of authenticity and real vulnerability. The vulnerability, however, is not without its...
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Planned Parenthood as a Life-Giving Source
Planned Parenthood is a life-giving organization. Many in the media, communities and churches would say otherwise. They focus on only three percent of their services—pregnancy termination—instead of...
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Donald Trump and Jesus, the Terrible Christian
We should all try a bit harder to be like Mr. Donald Trump. Well, kind of like Donald Trump. Mr. Trump displays a character trait I appreciate: He isn’t afraid to make people uncomfortable or angry. He...
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Metaphors Inside Out
In my young adulthood, I was affiliated with an organization of Christians who were more conservative – to the point that women wore head coverings in church. The young adults discussed if they should...
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“False Hope, Real Hope, and the Dying Child”
Earlier this week, CNN reported the heartbreaking story of five-year-old Julianna Snow, who was born with a rare, incurable neurodegenerative condition called Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. With muscles...
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The Pulpit in my Pew
Last Sunday, I heard many ideas from the preacher that raised the hair on my neck and generated words of retort in my mind. Of course a defensive remark to the preacher was out of the question. People...
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When a “None” Doesn’t Know They’re a Progressive Christian…
I was in conversation with one of my best friends about why I love belonging to the United Church of Christ. My friend hasn’t attended church regularly for most of her life, but she’s always been open...
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Trump, The Pope & The UCC
Call me crazy, but Donald Trump, Pope Francis and the United Church of Christ have something in common. No, this is not the first line of a joke… “So a politician, a Catholic and a Protestant walk into...
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Black, Conscious & Christian
“To be black and conscious in America is to be in a constant state of rage.”-James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time “It is a miracle that a nation of black people has so fervently continued to believe in a...
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Spinning Plates for Jesus
I’m just about to begin a new ministry gig. Once again, I get to immerse myself into the lives of a particular people in a particular place. I get to hear what they imagine and what they dream and how...
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Jesus was Politically Correct
“[Mexico is] sending people that have lots of problems, and they are bringing those problems to us. They are bringing drugs, and bringing crime, and their rapists.” “Laziness is a trait in blacks.” If...
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Why I’ve Stopped Reading Books on Ministry…At Least for Now
I’ve stopped reading books about church. This is a potentially destructive statement for someone who is about to release a book about church in the next six months. I’m a little worried I’m shooting...
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On Dead Children and the Wayfaring Stranger
Images and videos of dead bodies are not meant for consumption. And it does not make you more empathetic or, in some twisted sense, spiritually stronger if you can view those images while others must...
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Contentedly Raising Holy Hell
“Become content at heart, while also remaining discontent and disobedient.” The Gospel of Mary of Magdala 3:12-13a Yes, you are reading that citation correctly. There is a Gospel of Mary Magdalene, and...
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Of Lies and Grace
The first lie I can remember telling was to my Sunday school teacher. She asked if I was a ‘daily Bible reader’ that week. I said, ‘yes.’ Good little girls should be able to say yes to that question,...
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Dear White Folk: You Know What Time It Is
White supremacists shot five #BlackLivesMatter activists in Minneapolis last night. As activists mourned the death of a loved one, they were attacked – twice. First by the white supremacists. And then...
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The War on Advent
Every year about this time, we start to hear about the “War on Christmas.” The idea is that somehow Christmas is the one legitimate winter holiday, and merely wishing someone a generic “Happy Holidays”...
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The Gyroscope of Advent
When you were a kid, did you ever play with a gyroscope? You gave it a twirl and it seemed to spin forever. The world is like a gyroscope. At the dawn of creation, God gave the earth a twirl and it has...
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Lamenting 894 Deaths
During a ‘Black Lives Matter’ protest Temple University students stage a fifteen-minute ‘Die-in’ protest at the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I cant’t stop reading the snippets about how...
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