God’s love in 4-D: Ephesians 3:14-21
This weekend, I preached on Ephesians 3:14-21, which talks about the “height, length, width, and depth of God’s love.” I have no idea what Paul actually had in mind with these terms (neither do any of...
View ArticleSubmission As Leadership, Marriage As Mutual Servanthood
Few verses in the Bible have been more damaging historically to women in Western civilization than Ephesians 5:22 — “Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.” This has been a go-to verse in the...
View ArticleFrom fear and trembling to refuge (Psalm 2)
I have always had a particular attraction to Philippians 2:12, “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling,” partly because it creates a crisis for evangelicals with a formulaic “decision for...
View ArticleTalking atonement with the confirmands
Our youth pastor invited me today to talk about atonement with our confirmation class. As you know, I am very passionate about offering a better explanation than the Four Spiritual Laws of how Jesus’...
View ArticleThe Despised Ones: A Bloggers Collective
You may have noticed that an eery looking emblem recently appeared on my blog with some Greek and Hebrew along with a reference to 1 Corinthians 1:28, one of my favorite verses in the Bible: “He has...
View ArticleCould you worship a God who makes Himself nothing?
[This is the first synchroblog of our new blogging collective The Despised Ones addressing the question of power and authority in the light of Philippians 2. Check out other synchroblogs on our...
View ArticleRadical Jesus 101: What is God?
Most cultures in human history have had some concept of God, whether it’s one god or many gods, whether these gods are good or evil or a mix of both. What is it that makes the Christian God unique?...
View ArticleJesus’ holiness vs. our moralism (with Debra Hirsch)
I’ve been reading Debra Hirsch’s Redeeming Sex as part of the Patheos Book Club for May. It’s one of the better books I’ve read by someone with a traditionalist perspective on sexuality. One of my...
View ArticleCan Jesus save the world from Christians?
It seems there are two kinds of Christians: those who think the world needs to be saved from some villainous other like Muslims, gays, or liberals, and those who think the world needs to be saved from...
View ArticleIn what sense are we called to be empty?
For several years, Diana Trautwein has been a wise aunt to many of us in the progressive contemplative Christian blogger community. So I was tremendously honored when she agreed to review my book How...
View ArticleCan the gospel be orthodox and inclusive?
One of the tragedies of our civil war in United Methodism has been the bifurcation of the terms “orthodox” and “inclusive” according to whether one opposes or supports LGBT inclusion in the church....
View ArticleI’m with the people making sanctuary
The only positive thing about the last two weeks has been the sacred space I’ve been blessed to be a part of. The night after the election, we had a prayer gathering that fifty students attended. This...
View ArticleThe Theology That Pardons White Supremacy
Last night I witnessed a white United Methodist pastor seeking to justify Donald Trump’s pardon of infamously racist Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio by appealing to Jesus’ cross. Since Jesus’ sacrifice...
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