Tag: Politics
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Be Kind To Yourself
Be kind to yourself. Stop judging yourself, stop trying to make yourself fit into the morality of anyone else — myself and the Church included — stop “shoulding” all over yourself. The world is better — fuller, richer, more beautiful — with you in it… Read more
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The Problem with Our Contempt
When our hearts get sick with hatred, we start dehumanizing the other and no longer see suffering but just justice served. Once you celebrate the suffering of one, then there is no bar to cross of how evil or bad someone needs to be to celebrate their suffering, and eventually you cheer when ordinary people… Read more
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Create and Be Loud
Counter-cultural art is active resistance — especially when just loving your neighbor is deeply counter-cultural even in the church — so be actively resistant by creating. Do not just rely on others; flood the field with as much love as the powers flood is with cruelty and hate. Read more
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I (Finally) Found What to Say
If you have contempt for another, if you celebrate the suffering of another, if you condemn another, you do not love. Period. Love is universal and available to all, not just those you think need or deserve it more. Read more
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God, Save Us…Hosanna…Save Us…Please…
Where can we find hope? I really do not know. Some days I feel like a fraud in the pulpit because I really do wonder how to have hope when exploitation, violence, and hatred grow like an unstoppable force — and we are not an immovable object. Read more
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The Purpose of Lament Today
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Calls for Justice are not “Political”
…in thinking about the flippancy that some people treat the humanity of others and my lack of words to directly address the present situation, I found myself wondering about the term “political” and how it gets used (especially surrounding preaching and churches). While thinking about this, I realized I need to define “political,” a task… Read more
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Fearless Moral Inventory and Cancel Culture
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These things did not suddenly become wrong, and culture did not dictate our morality to us. We (royal we) do a fearless moral inventory of our society, systems, and culture, and, in doing so, learn that we did things that were wrong but acceptable when we did them. We look to both do better and… Read more
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How Long, O Lord?
I still have no words. The beginning of Psalm 13 has rang in my ears since I first started watching the attack on our democracy yesterday: “How long, O LORD?” How long will we deny the problem?How long will our leaders deny truth?How long will the powerful sow seeds of hatred?How long will can we… Read more
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Our Divisions Will Kill Us
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Go read last week’s sermon as a prelude to this. I preached that sermon as the Word of God–as ordained ministers do from the pulpit–and though I still struggle to believe I could possibly give the Word of God, if I do that, preaching that sermon gave the Word of God. I–the guy who writes… Read more
Red Shoe Pastor 