Part 1: "Wives Submit To Your Husbands. When it comes to the topic of "wives submitting to their husbands," we have a terrible distortion of scripture that is often at play. It usually starts with Genesis 3:16, where God says to the woman about her husband, "Your desire shall be for your husband and he shall rule over you." Taking this as "God's command" is not hearing what God is saying. God is describing a list of consequences of sin. This is marking a shift from the original, harmonious...
about 20 hours ago • 21 min read
Hello my friends, I hope you don't mind me sending you this bonus article today (Monday). However, given this week's events, I wanted to share this reflection with you. Responding To The Entire Bible Being Read In D.C. The entire Bible will be read in D.C. this week from 9 A.M. on April 19th to 9 P.M. on April 25th for an event called "America Reads the Bible." This is being done in preparation to celebrate the United States’ 250th anniversary as a nation. Among those slated to read passages...
6 days ago • 8 min read
Hello my friends, With it being the second week of Easter, I wanted to look at John 20:19-31 together. It is a passage the contains a lot of what we are experiencing today, both individually and communally. People are fearful, doubting, and suspicious of those in authority. All wondering what the future might hold. Into that fear, Jesus steps in and speaks peace. So, let's reflect together on pursuing that kind of peace in the midst of our fears. Recommended Resources -A Christian Field Guide...
14 days ago • 9 min read
Hello my friends, I hope you have had a peace filled and meaningful Holy Week. I hope that you have found both respite and inspiration to keep moving forward in our broken and fearful world today. With Holy Week concluding and moving into the Easter season, I wanted to reflect with you on Matthew's account of Jesus' resurrection and how it critiques imperial power and resists victory through dominion. Resurrection As Resistance. A Reflection on Gospel of Matthew 28:1–10. After the Sabbath, at...
21 days ago • 7 min read
Hello my friends, This newsletter will be sent out the first Sunday of Holy Week, otherwise called "Palm Sunday" or "Passion Sunday." Many traditions will hold services to acknowledge both Palm and Passion Sunday. Palm Sunday, which remembers Jesus' entry into Jerusalem on a donkey, has always been so profoundly impactful for me. Especially in our world today, where Christianity is so often used as a tool of coercive power. So, I wanted to reflect on the themes Matthew 21:1-11 with you today...
28 days ago • 10 min read
Hello my friends, In the midst of all that's happening in our world, I find myself continually asking for God to show up and do something. I think that's what made this week's gospel passage from John 11:1-45 resonate with me differently than it has before. The question over why Jesus delaying before coming to heal Lazarus and both Mary and Martha saying "if you had been here, my brother would not have died" is so similar to many questions I have had myself and many of you have written to me...
about 1 month ago • 8 min read
Hello my friends, In the storm of endless headlines, a story that might have otherwise flown under my radar popped up in my newsfeed. It was about a new dime mint that will be released this year to mark the 250th anniversary of the United States. The story grabbed my attention because of a very specific detail, a symbol that had long been on the the US's Great Seal was removed for this new mint: the olive branch, the symbol of peace. So, I wanted to ponder this symbolic change with you today,...
about 1 month ago • 10 min read
Hello, my friends, I often go to write these newsletters with a really heavy heart. There’s just so much to despair over. Too much. It is overwhelming. It can often feel as though there isn’t anything that will stop the endless spiral of chaos, corruption, and injustice we are witnessing. We are also seeing the age-old intersection between the three Abrahamic religions, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, being put under the microscope yet again with the continued joint attacks on Iran from...
about 2 months ago • 8 min read
Hello my friends, I know it is not the norm for me to send out a newsletter midweek like this, so I hope you don't mind. Given the recent news about more than a hundred service members filing complaints that a commander told them that war with Iran is part of “God’s divine plan,” that a sitting president is “anointed by Jesus” to ignite Armageddon, it is important to make it clear how unbiblical this claim is. This claim has more to do with the fiction series of “Left Behind” and...
about 2 months ago • 7 min read