“Our world is in need of a savior!” A line we might expect to come right out of a sermon in a church. But, it’s not. If we are paying attention, we can hear it being whispered from different corners…
God’s Bet on Humanity and Creation
The only two questions any pastor should be asking right now
Pastors spend a lot of time solving problems, and that means asking questions. Unfortunately, most of those questions are unimportant, even trivial. I know this because I’ve wasted plenty of my own time wondering about these same things.
Decided. Or have we become what we thought we would be
At the end of every semester, like clockwork I suppose, it happens. Amidst the speeches, the tasseling (oh, the TASSELING!), the pomp and the circumstance. Amidst the youthful expectancy, the Quixotic hubris, and the endless marimba ring screeching disturbingly from…
Can we move past a narcissistic gospel yet?
By Seth Vopat When I was a child and the senior pastor of my church asked me during one of several meetings, “Do you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal savior?” it was a no-brainer. I said, “I…
My Christmas Eve epiphany
I have been driven to a startling conclusion: the God who burns with compassion for the outcast is our salvation. That simple message fueled the ministry of Jesus. Jesus’ solidarity with the poor wasn’t stressed much in the churches I…
Time to wake up
I recently sat down with Ian Morgan Cron’s memoir, Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and Me. For those who aren’t familiar with Ian Morgan Cron, he is an Episcopal priest with a gift for writing, and his story is a…
The shortest blog on record
“That is why I started to write. To save myself.” Eldridge Cleaver in Soul on Ice I suspect that is also why some people started to preach.
A graceless gospel
The moment started innocently enough. I was walking with my wife through an exhibition hall at the Oklahoma State Fair. We were on a date just enjoying our time together. Then a stranger raised his voice from his rather sad…