The ending of The Gospel of Mark does not fit the new life, new hope feeling we enjoy each year as we use Easter to signal the return of new life in spring. On a day when we expect to feel the overwhelming presence of the risen Christ, the ending of Mark’s Gospel is entirely underwhelming.
Read MoreCan the church play a role in making not only our communities safer but also in thinking theologically about violence, guns, and our calling to live as disciples of Jesus Christ?
Read MoreIs resurrection synonymous with celebrating the spring? What should be preached on Easter Sunday? How does God show up? These questions and more on this episode of Strangely Warmed with guests Teer Hardy and Jason Micheli.
Read MoreTo challenge the empire, to be the counter-cultural voice, to put on a piece of political street theater, requires you to be willing to enjoy the carnival-like atmosphere while it lasts because if you challenge things enough if you push the empire enough the empire will push back
Read MoreThe problem with attractional evangelism and ministry is that it requires you to out-do yourself week after week. Those who showed up for the giveaway, might stay because they've found God or discovered that Christ has always been present in their lives but if they came for the novelty of the car, and you don't have another novelty lined up, the emptiness of attractional evangelism will fall flat and the 51% increase experience will dwindle back to the norm until the next over the top outreach attempt.
Read MoreFor churches that can barely update a website, starting a podcast can seem like a daunting task. Because podcasting requires an internet connection, the confusion factor seems to go from 0-100 instantly. But it can be manageable and even fun.
Read MoreAndy Root thinks the church's obsession with growing young might be misguided. Joined by Rev. Drew Colby, Jason and I interviewed Dr. Andy Root of Luther Seminary and author of Faith Formation in a Secular Age: Responding to the Church's Obsession with Youthfulness on the latest episode of Crackers and Grape Juice.
Read MoreEither way you slice it, our polarization has had a negative impact on the way we view the world and one another. Theologians have an opportunity to work towards the de-polarization by engaging ideas they would not normally engage.
Read MoreI'm just tired unto death of this craziness. I'm tired of the vitriol, and I'm tired of cynicism wrapping itself in the American Flag and proclaiming individual rights are greater than the general welfare.
Read MoreDoes the UMC need a Donald Trump to emerge, willing to disrupt the status quo? Can the UMC move beyond the debate of human sexuality, which is really a debate over power and money, and live into is mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world?
Read MoreRev. Rob Lee announces his recently signed book deal exclusively with Crackers & Grape Juice. Rob opens up about the new role he finds himself in as a public theologian as well as what he has learned about race in America traveling and preaching at churches he once never dreamed of preaching in.
Read MoreBecause there is so much going on in this story, and the writer of Mark wrote such a condensed account of the ministry of Jesus, and on top of that uses misdirection, we miss it. The people in the synagogue did not miss it. Yes, they were astounded by the spirit being cast aside but they knew what was going on. They saw something different happening.
Read MoreWhat does it mean to be created in the image of God? Are we imitations of the Godhead? Of Christ?
Read MoreBut what happens when God incarnate is the one calling us to repent and believe? It is easy to blow off the street preach as we walk out of Starbucks or to flip the channel when the slick-haired televangelist begins preaching. It’s easy to not make eye contact with someone on the street or turn off the television and go play with our kids. It is easy to write off the story of Jonah, but what are we to do when Jesus calls upon us to repent and believe?
Read MoreOn Wesley Theological Seminary (and whether or not anything good can come from it...), the need for repetition, submissive liturgical postures, the rarity of the Word, sex and fornication, and the challenge of preaching on difficult passage
Read MoreYear after year we see the wise men as minor characters in our children’s Christmas pageants and fail to see that for us, Gentiles, the wise men’s visit to Bethlehem signaled, just as Simeon declared in the Temple, that Christ had come for all people.
Read MoreIf Belinda Carlisle is right, and Heaven is place on earth, where is Hell? What is Hell?
Read MoreOn wild and wonderful West Virginia, creation as conversation, reclaiming the darkness, faith as disruption, elevating the Spirit, names with definite articles, the violence of baptism, and John as the first hipster
Read MoreSimeon and Anna were ordinary people. Neither of them held the title of Reverend in front of their name. Simeon and Anna were ordinary people faithfully waiting for God to move.
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