What might it look like to seek peace and justice rather than simply to win?

I am a white male Baby Boomer, born and raised in the (Reformed) evangelical world. I am now retired after having ministered in that world for 49 years. My own “deconstruction” started more than 40 years ago. In September of 2026, my wife and I attended The Wild Goose Festival in North Carolina for the first time. The first Festival was held in 2011, and Wikipedia describes it as “an art, music, and story-driven festival grounded in faith-inspired social justice.” We had no i

I have come to the end of Parker J. Palmer’s wonderful book On the Brink of Everything: Grace, Gravity and Getting Old. The last chapter asks “How shall we then die?” He’s not a fan of the “pie in the sky” perspective: “Theologies that portray heaven as a gated community in the sky don’t speak to my condition. Among other things, an eternity spent exclusively among members of my own tribe sounds more hellish than heavenly.” Now that Palmer is older, he is less certain o

I read this prayer today from Cole Arthur Riley, in her book “Black Liturgies”. There are several valuable reminders here. One is that fear can make us demand definition from mystery. We want to know exactly, black and white, what is what. Often that desire is driven by fear. Another is that we can be several things at the same time – fluid: we can be angry and kind, well and wounded. The last is that sometimes binaries are used to make us small. If fear is your issue, this p

“Who gave us Trump?” This question has driven conversations at every level across America, and generated innumerable articles, books, podcasts, and talking-head shows since DJT appeared on the political scene. A relevant corollary question is: “Why did more than three-quarters of white American evangelicals vote for him, not once, not twice, but three times?” The Holy Post podcast devoted its September 23, 2026 episode to “The Debate over Evangelicalism”, an attempt to

In the City of God podcast of September 16, 2026, Becky Gerritson, Executive Director of Eagle Forum of Alabama, is the guest. Back in 2010 she was running the Watumka Tea Party in Alabama, and had applied for a 501C4. She claims that “Obama’s IRS had been targeting tea party groups, and would not give them their tax-exempt status.” This was an often-stated claim at that time, and, obviously, it continues to this day. The basic facts are true: the 2013 investigation by the

Yesterday, the beloved Wendell Berry died at age 92. He was an American novelist, poet, essayist, environmental activist, cultural critic, and farmer. Many of us profited greatly from his various writings, always being challenged by him to pay better attention to what is happening around us, and to do what we could for the good of all things, no matter how small. And he could always comfort: “The impeded stream is the one that sings.” A friend and I were texting about his pas

Sunday in church we sang the familiar “Amazing Grace”, written by converted slave ship captain John Newton. Everyone knows the hymn. Our congregation is largely upper-middle-class, mostly made up of the baby boomer generation. As we sang the first line, in which Newton declares his amazement at the thought that God would save “a wretch like me”, I considered whether I had been or am a wretch. I looked around, wondering how many in the congregation would identify themselves

I was born, raised, and trained in a strong evangelical (Reformed) community. I spent the first 25 years of my adult life ministering formally from that community. Now, I do not call myself evangelical. That is not because I think the community was/is not well-intentioned and has everything wrong. Rather, I am convinced the community has aligned itself with modern Western culture more than it recognizes and is willing to admit, and that this alignment has produced some bad fr

Rethinking "O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus" and the direction of the biblical story. Recently my lectionary devotional app played a classic hymn - O, the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus. (See lyrics below). I remember it well from my growing-up years. We sang it regularly at home and church. I could probably sing every part and most of the lyrics without a book. When I hear it today, those memories go deep. But other thoughts arise after 40+ years of life experience, during whic

During the last few years, I have been sourcing my prayers from a variety of ethnic, cultural, and religious traditions. Sometimes the prayers are as good as – or better than – the Bible! But that makes perfect sense to me, because I take literally and seriously the declarations of the Bible that Jesus has created all things and is holding all things together (Col. 1), that “in him we move and have our being” (Acts 17 – note: a quote from a Greek philosopher which found its w

Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi was a 13th-century Persian poet, Islamic scholar, and Sufi mystic. His poetic writings on divine love, the human soul and the unity of all things have become precious to me. Here is one of his on the persistent pursuit of Love. No one can escape it. Not even you, or the worst person you know. You found me once again, you thief of hearts. In drunken ecstasy, you searched the bazaar and found me. Even through sleepy-lidded, Love-drunk eyes, you sp

I am reading a book called The Gospel According to Eve (2019) by the Rev. Dr. Amanda Benckhuysen (what a great Dutch name!). The book...

We live in a culture that wants to "get over" or "fix" suffering asap. We have lost the ability to experience Jesus' presence in...

We continue our series on "What is the Gospel" with the focus on how Jesus came to set up God's Kingdom. The church has acknowledged...

We continue our series on "what is the Gospel?" by thinking about how Jesus rescues all of creation - from the intensely personal to...

After a recent conversation, I have been thinking about my disillusionment with the white evangelical church, and why it lies so deep. I...

Part 2 of the "What is the Gospel?" series. Jesus has come to earth to show us God's love. What is God's love? And what about God's...

I am currently doing a 6-part sermon series entitled "What is the Gospel?" Many of us who identify as Christians have a unclear view of...

I am reading a book by Liz Charlotte Grant called Knock at the Sky: Seeking God in Genesis after Losing Faith in the Bible . “Braiding...