Unless biblical literalism is challenged overtly in the Christian church itself, it will, in my opinion, kill the Christian faith. It is not just a benign nuisance that afflicts Christianity at its edges; it is a mentality that renders the Christian faith unbelievable...
The one who is wise will see their life as more like a reservoir than a canal. The canal simultaneously pours out what it receives; the reservoir retains the water till it is filled, then discharges the overflow without loss to itself. . . . Today there are many in...
People will often say, "My authority is the Bible." It would be more accurate for them to say, "My authority is what they told me at church the Bible means."
The church is not called to be the morality police of the world, legislators of holiness, or judges convicting people according to God's law. The church is not called to be a courtroom. It is called to be a sanctuary.
My biggest regret in 53 years of ministry is that I didn’t do my own personal exegesis sooner on the 4 passages used to restrict women. Shame on me. I wasted those 4 yrs of Greek in college & seminary. When I finally did my proper “due diligence”, laying aside 50...
The Church is not to be a national community like the old Israel, but a community of believers without political or national ties.
In the Season of Pentecost (Liturgical churches call it "Ordinary Time") -- God called Abram to leave his home to find a new one, and Jesus called Matthew, a tax-collector, to leave his job and “follow me.” In both testaments, we heard stories of moving from...
The church is the church only when it exists for others... The church must share in the secular problems of ordinary human life, not dominating, but helping and serving.
I've learned, over many years, that church isn't about order or quiet or even ritual so much as it is about showing up. For yourself, for God, and for the people around you who need to feel--just as you do--that the blessings and burdens of being a human are not...
From a couple years ago and evidently, still relevant: "I used to argue with others who didn’t believe women could preach and pastor. So much energy wasted. Nowadays, I just train and provide opportunities for women to preach in our congregation. And when they do,...