Archive for November, 2013

A Response to Tony Jones’ blog post today, “It’s Time for a Schism Regarding Women in the Church”

In response to Tony Jones’ blog post over at patheos.com today calling for the church to schism, I thought I’d post this vision I wrote a couple of summers ago during my sabbatical. Tony, thanks for your strong words today.  Let’s also lift up a positive vision for people to see.  Here is my proposal. […]

Everyone Poops

The following presentation was offered on November 19, 2013, during the Gustavus Adolphus College “Building Bridges” fall preview event, a student-led social justice movement, which gathered under the theme, “Disposable Communities? Demanding Environmental Justice”. Alongside Professors Richard Leitch, Laura Triplett, and David Obermiller, my brief thoughts focused on how theology can provide a critical lens […]

Born Privileged

The following is a transcript from November 21, 2013, in Christ Chapel of Gustavus Adolphus College (St. Peter, MN). As part of the “Daily Sabbath” fall semester rhythm, this homily examines a variety of biblical texts in order to consider the nature and consequences of social privilege. Today is my birthday. I was brought into […]

Why does it sound strange to call God ‘she’?

Psalm 23 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. She makes me lie down in green pastures; she leads me beside still waters; she restores my soul. She leads me in right paths for her name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with […]

Liberation from the Desert of the Unreal

The following is a transcript from November 10, 2013, in Christ Chapel of Gustavus Adolphus College (St. Peter, MN). As part of a Service of Holy Communion, the following sermon considers John 14:27-28. It was over 14 years ago, on March 31, 1999, when Warner Brothers released a cyberpunk science fiction film that opened the […]

Gustavus Unplugged: To Promote Life Plugged-In

We live in a so-called plugged-in era. With constant access to instant information, “google” is now a verb, thoughts are shared in 140 characters or less, news is old within twenty-four hours, and friends are requested with the click of a button. A world wide web is available at our fingertips, and because of it, […]