Every truth, every deed, every teaching is reduced to nothing more than religious noise when it isn't placed under and clothed in the commandment to love.
01878 – The Commandment to Love Covers All
read more
01806 – How Honest Can Our Children Be with Us?
We teach our children how honest they can be with us based on how we react when they tell us things we don't want to hear.
01779 – Becoming the Church
God puts us in churches so that we will learn to love others; so that our rough edges will be worn off. When you feel like fleeing to another or different church, know you are moving close to spiritual growth. One purpose of church is to place us in covenant...
01616 – You Coming?
I reject the version of Jesus who would have told the rich young ruler, “you are blessed” instead of, “give everything to the poor and follow me.” Who would have pushed women to the fringes of the narrative, instead of empowering Mary to be the first preacher of...
01602 – Teaching Has Imprint
You will teach them to fly, but they will not fly your flight. You will teach them to dream, but they will not dream your dream. You will teach them to live, but they will not live your life. Nevertheless, in every flight, in every life, in every dream, the print of...
01560 – Being Christian: Following in Jesus’ Footsteps
Being a Christian is not essentially about joining a church or being a nice person, but about following in the footsteps of Jesus, taking his teachings seriously, letting his Spirit take the lead in our lives, and in so doing helping to change the world from our...
01439 – God’s People? Neglecting the Poor?
God's Word teaches a very hard, disturbing truth. Those who neglect the poor and the oppressed are really not God's people at all--no matter how frequently they practice their religious rituals or how orthodox are their creeds and confessions.
01379 – Interpreting “God’s Word”
The issue should not be oversimplified into whether people will live by God's word or mere human teaching. Given this choice, all religious people will choose "God's word." But for all sides of the debate, God's word is not available directly, only through human...
01347 – Letting Suffering Teach Us
Many of us are tempted to think that if we suffer, the only important thing is to be relieved of our pain. We want to flee it at all costs. But when we learn to move through suffering, rather than to avoid it, then we greet it differently. We become willing to let it...
01328 – Jesus Would Still Upset Us
Do you understand why he upset them? I used to think the reason Jesus was crucified was because he picked a bad century. Now, it wouldn't make any difference. He could come to Louisville during this last decade of the 20th century and if he did the kind of preaching,...