Advent is weird in higher education. Good weird but still weird. Advent officially begins when we are in the last swings of class and start prepping for finals but officially ends after we have left for the semester. So the question is, when does Advent/Christmas begin for college and all higher ed students? At my [...]
Did you ever sing that song? “I am the church! You are the church! We are the church together! All who follow Jesus all around the world, yes, we’re the church together!” I learned that song while working with a children’s ministry at a Disciples of Christ church in Missouri. It was one of the [...]
In my last post I stated that young adults want to matter in church communities. They want their presence to make a difference, to have a share in what is created, to have their point of view honored, to be useful, to learn and teach, to know and be known, to be themselves without fearing [...]
It’s time to stop blaming young adults. It’s time to stop blaming young adults for “leaving” the church. It’s time to stop blaming young adults for the declining membership of churches. It’s time to stop blaming young adults for being too disinterested, too busy with other things, too caught up in social media. The church [...]
I just had an article published on Unbound called “Numbering My Worries” as part of their Inside Agitators: Seminarians for Justice issue. First and foremost, I am honored to be included in this issue along with several others from my seminary and other seminaries and divinity schools. I am struck by how attentive each person is to [...]
A Prayer for Procrastinators God, you are the everlasting instant. You are now and then and will be. Today I pray for the procrastinators, including myself, for those who struggle with time management, for those who are anxious about what they have to get done, for those who can’t silence the to-do lists running in [...]
This Lent I’m leading a study on the book Unbinding Your Soul by Martha Grace Reese. It involves a weekly group meeting, but the bulk of it is a daily prayer journal with all kinds of different spiritual exercises. So, in an effort to help my own personal walk through of this book, I will [...]
The Ashes on My Hand: A Prayer to Begin Lent God–I’m so tired of Lent. I’m tired of the individualistic religiosity I see in others and especially in me I am so frustrated by the Christianity I see on TV Saddened when I listen to political debates It is so much easier to point to [...]
Note: This post was written between Sunday January 29th and Wednesday February 1. It was delayed because it discusses the PC(USA) biblical exegesis ordination exam, and I signed an honor statement saying I wouldn’t discuss the exam during the exam. I am publishing this without editing it post-exam. As I write my biblical exegesis [...]
My friend @markrsmith asked me recently: What do you do when your world turns upside down? How do you cope? There is a part of me that thinks I ‘should’ give an expected answer from someone who claims to have faith. Like, I have faith that the world will turn right-side up. Or, I have [...]