On October 12th, during a Trump rally at Youngstown, Ohio, several men physically assaulted a woman as the crowd chanted “USA! USA! USA!” The woman was wearing a t-shirt that said “Release the Epstein files!” She was exercising her first amendment rights. Peacefully protesting at a public event. Several men then began to push, punch, slap, and pull her to the ground. Then they high-fived each other. The police came and instead of taking the men who were attacking her away, they removed her...
5 days ago • 4 min read
Hello my friends, With recent event thrusting the topic of capital punishment and public executions into mainstream public discourse, I thought it would be helpful to spend some time in today's newsletter reflecting on that topic throughout church history and within Jesus' context as we navigate it ourselves in our world today. Recommended Resources: -A Statement of Conscience: People of Faith Reject the Livestreaming of an Execution This is an online petition by Change.org for people of...
8 days ago • 12 min read
Hello, my friends, Today, I would like us to reflect on one of Jesus's more searing parables to the religious leaders of his day. I think it has significant ramifications for leaders who claim to be Christian today. That is, if we listen to and heed his words as he intended. RESOURCES TO CONSIDER: -A Jewish Paul: The Messiah's Herald to the Gentiles by Matthew Thiessen. New Testament scholar Matthew Thiessen was kind enough to send me his book. In it, he offers a contextually compelling...
15 days ago • 10 min read
Hello my friends, Given recent events, I wanted to send out this newsletter to you today and reflect on them. On September 30th during his “State of the Force” address, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the creation of the Pentagon's new Office of Religious Affairs. As of the writing of this post, no individual has been publicly named or announced to head this office. According to Hegseth, the office will give military chaplains a "direct line" to him without "staff filters" and...
18 days ago • 6 min read
Hello my friends, Thank you for being here today. Given the several inhumane and shocking events of this last week, I wanted to focus on a question posed in the Bible that I've written on before but doesn't seem to get a lot of attention. It is the question of why evil seems to prosper. My hope in this piece is to not only process the reality of all that is happening and ask this question together, but also to hopefully encourage you to continue forward in hope towards justice. Recommended...
22 days ago • 10 min read
Hello my friends, Today’s gospel from the Lectionary is the parable of the vineyard workers from Matthew 20:1-16. I wrote a newsletter on this parable called “Resting Generosity,” which you can read here. Essentially, it is a parable about those who resent generosity shown to those they believe don’t deserve it. Today, I want to look at the first reading for today, Jonah 3:10-4:11, and how Jonah becomes furious with God’s compassion being shown to people he believes don’t deserve it, and how...
29 days ago • 9 min read
Hello my friends, Today I want to look at a parable from Jesus that has been on my minds a lot lately, as well as that famous phrase of his about forgiving "seventy times seven." There are a few things I want to reflect on today as well as ponder how this reflects our world today. Before we dive in, here are some resources I’d recommend: -Wellness 2.0: When It's All Too Much by Hidden Brain. I found this episode to be incredibly insightful and helpful. It deals with our emotional and mental...
about 1 month ago • 10 min read
Hello my friends, I posted something recently on social about grief and the stories people shared about their own grief were powerful and moving. If you have time, you can go read them on my Instagram, Facebook, or Substack posts that begin with “It’s hard to name the kind of grief…”. So, today, I want to create a space for you to name your grief, know you are not alone in it, and hopefully feel comforted by that understanding in order to move forward in our work to bring healing to this...
about 1 month ago • 10 min read
Hello my friends, I hope this finds you well today. Thanks for being here. In our time together, I wanted to reflect on Peter rebuking Jesus in Matthew 16:21-28 when Jesus predicted his death and resurrection and what the "why" behind his rebuke might teach us about American Christianity today. Resources To Consider: -Why don’t Christians look to Jesus as a model for masculinity? I wrote this piece a few years ago as I reflected on the kind of masculinity I inherited and witnessed around me...
about 2 months ago • 10 min read