Text: Psalm 42 and 1 Kings 19:1-15a Blessed are the crazy. Blessed are those who experience feelings of anxiety and are consumed by worry. Blessed are those who have suicidal thoughts. Blessed are those who have survived trauma. Blessed are those are trapped in cycles of addiction. Blessed are the crazy. Blessed. That isn’t the…
The Body of Christ
we are the church
Sing! Play! Summer! – The Old Rugged Cross
Text: 1 Corinthians 1:18-29 A young rabbi found a serious problem in his new congregation. During the Friday service, half the congregation stood for the prayers and half remained seated, and each side insisted that theirs was the true tradition. Nothing the rabbi said or did moved toward solving the impasse. Finally, in desperation, the…
Thinking about running as a General Conference Delegate?
A number of people have reached out to ask about what my experience was, what they need to know, what all is involved. Here are some of my initial thoughts… and if there are comments/questions I’ll continue to expand and update this in response. I am still praying and discerning whether I want to do…
General Conference Reflections #gc2019
I knew that whatever decisions we made or didn’t make during this past week in our General Conference that this Transfiguration text would be appropriate to frame our conversation. You see, in the three synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke – the three that see together – the Transfiguration represents a turning point. Where…
Surrounded #gc2019
I’ve been here in St. Louis for two days now because of some committee responsibilities and it is hard to imagine that we are here and ready to get started. We have been talking about this special called conference for a long time. And a big part of me really just wants to be on…
GC2019: Committee On Reference
This past weekend, I was part of the meeting of the Committee on Reference for the General Conference. Typically, our work focuses on assigning (or referring) petitions and legislation to various committees of the General Conference. But we were tasked with a new role in light of this special called General Conference. As Paragraph 14…
YES! We Are Able to Care for Our Children
Text: Mark 9: 33-37, 42-43, 10:13-16 For twenty-seven years, faith communities across the United States have been observing the “Children’s Sabbath,” lifting a united voice of concern for the children in our midst. Marian Wright Edleman has been instrumental in this work throughout her life. She recalls in a letter of introduction to this year’s…
The Tie that Binds
Text: Colossians 3: 12-17 I want to start off our message this morning by thanking all of you for the gentleness, patience, and tolerance that you have shared with one another these past few weeks. As a community, we have been exploring the larger conversation taking place in our denomination about human sexuality. There are…